I'd Do Anything
by PhoenixRae
Summary: DONE Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new professor? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?
1. All Aboard!

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** after the success of _Mission: Capture the Heart of the Resident Bad Boy_ and _Defense Against You_ I decided to try out for a third story. To all those who read & enjoyed my first two finished Draco/Ginny stories, thank you all so much for reading & reviewing, I hope you enjoy this third try of mine to handle their love story. I know the secret admirer plot is overrated since it's used quite a lot, but as always, I have my own different take on this story plot so please bear with me, thanks! J

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**I. All Aboard! **

Ginny checked every compartment that would be able to accommodate her, but so far everywhere else was full. She didn't want to sidle in with Hermione, Harry, and Ron since she knew they would be far too damn busy talking about stuff _they_ would only know what it was about to pay the slightest bit of attention to her. She continued walking down each train cart until she found one that was too full; only three people were occupying it so far. She knocked on the door and waited until three heads turned to her, frowning and scowling at having been interrupted from their discussion—whatever kind of discussion it was that she just unceremoniously interrupted.

"Yes?" barked the blond haired, grey eyed member of the trio.

Ginny was momentarily rendered speechless as her brown gaze locked with the icy bluish-grey gaze of the leader of the group. She took a quick inventory of his blond hair chopped short, styled using probably a pound of hair gel to make it stick out like spikes. Seemed like someone had made some major changes for the upcoming school year over the summer. Finally she ended her scrutiny of the prominent blond haired Slytherin boy when her eyes collided with the cold stare of those bluish-grey eyes.

She just walked in to a compartment occupied by none other than Draco Malfoy and his thugs!

"What do you want, Weasley?" Draco snarled when she still hadn't given him an answer.

Ginny quickly snapped out of her trance and matched his scowl with hers. Squaring her shoulders, she pushed away from the door and jutted her chin.

"Nothing you can give, Malfoy," she replied back acidly.

"Then why in the bloody hell did you interrupt us?"

"I was just about to ask if I could sit with you guys, but I seem to have walked in to the wrong compartment. This one reeked of some foul stench," she wrinkled her nose in disgust and turned her back to the stunned faces of the occupants of the compartment.

Ginny Weasley just mouthed them off. Ron Weasley's meek and timid sister just grew a pair!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Ginny finally found a compartment that was occupied by one person. He was deep in concentration reading a book and was seated by the window on one side of the compartment.

"Excuse me, would you mind if I sit with you?" she asked the sole occupant of the compartment.

A pair of milk chocolate brown eyes met Ginny's and she sucked in a big breath when she recognized the young man in the compartment.

"_Oliver!_" she exclaimed and didn't wait to be invited in. "What are you doing here?"

Oliver Wood put down the book he was reading and smiled up at the youngest Weasley offspring. He didn't have to think twice about who she was; her mass of coppery reddish-brown hair and freckled face told him she was a Weasley. And didn't he just spend not this past summer, but the summer before, with her and her family? Fred and George heard he was in town and decided to invite him over to the Burrow for the weekend to catch-up on things; even Percy was up for a chat and so was Ginny.

"Hello, Ginny. How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she nodded, "And you?"

"I'm great. Nervous, actually, but great nevertheless," he admitted.

"Why are you nervous?" she frowned, "And _what_ are you doing here?"

"I'm nervous because I'm going to be teaching at Hogwarts," he confessed, his cheeks slightly flushed.

"Really?" Ginny's eyes widen in surprise. She sat down on the bench across from him, tucking her legs underneath her and made herself comfortable, "Which subject? Who retired? Who quit?" she fired question after question at him, intrigued at this surprise revelation. He couldn't be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts; that position had been filled since two years ago so nobody was fighting over that position anymore.

Oliver held up his hand and laughed, "Whoa, slow down, Ginny! One question at a time, please," he smiled.

"Oh…sorry," Ginny blushed and clamped her mouth. "It's just that…well, I'm just surprised and excited you might say. I mean, if you replace one of those teachers whom I least like _then_ I'll be in heaven!" she giggled.

Oliver smiled, his dimples showing and making Ginny realize for the first time in all the years that she have known Oliver Wood that he was one of the cutest boy ever to grace Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with his presence!

"I was asked by Headmaster Dumbledore to take over Professor Binns History of Magic class," he informed her, "It seems like dear old Binns finally decided to join the other ghosts in the afterlife," he added with a wink.

"Finally! History of Magic won't be boring anymore!" Ginny squealed, delighted at the prospect of having Oliver Wood take over what usually was a boring History of Magic class with the ghost professor.

"I sure hope so," Oliver smiled sheepishly.

"Nah, don't worry too much about it, Oliver. Oh, should I call you professor now or can I still call you Oliver?" she frowned as she made herself more comfortable in her seat.

"You can call me professor or Oliver, but I prefer to be called just Oliver for now. I think being addressed as 'Professor Wood' is a bit too formal for my taste."

"You got it, _Professor,_" Ginny grinned.

Oliver and Ginny spent the better part of the trip to Hogwarts talking and discussing everything from Quidditch (Oliver said he traded a chance to work with professionals in Quidditch to become a teacher at Hogwarts) to everything else that happened at Hogwarts since he left. Ginny was more than accommodating to update him on who's dating whom nowadays and who won the House Cup the year before.

They were lost in their conversation to notice that someone walked by their open compartment door and was watching the perky redhead chatter it up with the boyish new professor. He remained hidden in the shadows as he watched Ginny Weasley enjoy what looked like a fun conversation with none other than Oliver Wood.

_You could be Oliver right now, you know? If only you paid attention to her,_ his nagging conscience reminded him bitterly.

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**A/N:** Well, what do you guys think? Who could that person be spying on Ginny and Oliver? I know it's a short chapter, but I'm still working on it so please be patient with me. I got about 3 other stories to work on and after getting the idea for another fic I just couldn't help myself from _not_ posting it up soon. Tell me what you think, aight? CHAPTER 2 is on its way…I hope. My ideas for story plot are still a bit cloudy, but hopefully not for long. Anyway, that's how I often start with each story I write: cloudy plot ideas! *lol*

**A/N2:** Oh, oh, OH! Before I forget, to make this more interesting (and to be a bit more interactive), I'll be needing _your_ help. Yes, _you_, you wonderful reader you! Anyway, since Ginny's got a secret admirer, I need some songs that her secret admirer could use when he sends her his little love notes. I don't care how many songs you guys could think of, I'm sure I'll be able to use each and every one of your suggestions throughout this story. If you could help me out with this _tiny_ bit of problem of mine, that'll be great! THANKS in advance & hope you enjoy this fic.


	2. Breakfast Surprise

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** after the success of _Mission: Capture the Heart of the Resident Bad Boy_ and _Defense Against You_ I decided to try out for a third story. To all those who read & enjoyed my first two finished Draco/Ginny stories, thank you all so much for reading & reviewing, I hope you enjoy this third try of mine to handle their love story. 

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**II. Breakfast Surprise **

The first two weeks of the new school year flew by so fast Ginny didn't have the chance to sit back and ponder about the days gone by. For some insane reason all the professors decided to gang-up against the students and started piling them with tons of homework and projects to last them a lifetime.

"God, can't they give us any more school load that was necessary?" Ginny hissed, her eyes sporting some dark bags underneath from having to stay up way past curfew finishing up a Charms assignment.

"Bite your tongue, Ginny, we don't want you to be jinxing everything and adding some _more_ to what we already have here," scolded Abigail Wilson, Ginny's closest friend and a fellow sixth year.

"Hey, I am _not_ wishing for any more school load from our blasted teachers, Abby! I am merely expressing my damn feelings about being worked to an early grave _because_ all our professors find it amusing to see their students break their backs carrying too much stuff back to their dormitories and pouring all their damn time answering their numerous assignments!" she complained heatedly.

"Could you announce that any louder, Ginny?" snapped Ron irately, "I don't think the teachers over at the staff table heard you _whining_ about our school load."

Ginny made a face at her brother but chose not to give him a verbal reply. Ron had been snippy lately due to their heavy school load, and Ginny knew her brother all too well. He was too damn _lazy_ to do his work on time and cramming at the very last minute to hand in an assignment on time became a regular past time for him—and for her too since she quite enjoyed the entertainment of Ron pulling his hairs out when he couldn't get the answer right and Hermione wouldn't let him copy off _her_ answers. Even Harry wasn't helping Ron much in the copying _and_ sharing of answers since he too was pretty busy catching up with his schoolwork as well.

Ginny ate her breakfast in complete silence after that. She didn't want to open her mouth anymore and have Ron shut her up because she couldn't stop complaining. _Well sore-ree, brother dear, but unlike you, I have the guts to voice out what's really bothering me,_ she thought as she toyed with her cereal. She ignored Ron's mumbled whining (she could only guess _what_ he was complaining about: Hermione not letting him copy off her Transfiguration answers) and poured her concentration on her food, but she couldn't concentrate well enough on what she was doing without her eyes drooping every two seconds from lack of sleep! Abigail had to elbow her twice to keep her face from falling into her bowl of cereals.

Ginny tried to stay awake for as long as possible, thinking of anything and everything to keep her mind active. She was just trying to remember some sorry detail of a poor silly witch who dared challenged some muggles a few years back about his (or was it a woman?) invincibility when hundreds of owls soared into the room.

"Mail is here!" Colin Creevey exclaimed gleefully as he caught a small package from him and a letter.

Ginny didn't pay much attention to the incoming mail since she rarely received any letters. Her mother often wrote to her, but Molly Weasley just wrote to her yesterday—she couldn't possibly have written another one to her in twenty-four hours' time! She continued to ignore the soaring owls overhead when something hit her on the head and bounced on to the table, missing her bowl of cereal by an inch.

"What the…" she frowned and looked at the envelope that toppled down beside her breakfast. She picked up the cream envelope and turned it over, her eyes widening when an elegant scrawl adorned the back of the envelope with her name, _Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House_, written on it.

Who would be sending her a letter addressed as such? Her mother never sent her letters written ever so elegantly like the one on this envelope was. Curious, she opened the enveloped and fished out the piece of folded parchment tucked inside.

_I heard you're doing okay  
But I want you to know  
I'm addicted to you  
I can't pretend I don't care  
When you don't think about me  
Do you think I deserve this? _

_I'm trying to forget that  
I'm addicted to you  
But I want it and I need it  
I'm addicted to you… _

_Since the day I met you  
And after all we've been through  
I'm addicted to you  
I think you know that it's true  
I'd run a thousand miles to get you  
Do you think I deserve this? _

_How long will I be waiting?  
Until the end of time  
I don't know why I'm still waiting  
I can't make you mine… _

The letter started and ended with just those words, no salutations and no signature of the sender. It was just a letter expressing the person's feelings…for her? She held the piece of parchment (which the sender took his time burning the sides of it to make it attractive border) in her almost numb hands. She read and reread the letter over and over again, trying to decipher in her head _who_ was the sender. The handwriting was indiscernible; everything was written in some elegant scrawl so she wouldn't be able to figure out who this person was.

She lifted her head and searched the crowded Great Hall for the person who could've sent her this letter, but everywhere else she looked each student was busy attending to his or her letter. _Damn! He's got to be looking at me right now to make sure I received his damn letter!_ she thought irately as she scanned the room once more, her brown eyes moving up at the staff table. Somehow her attention was drawn towards the teachers' table and as she looked at each professor seated alongside each other either eating or talking, her eyes stopped and locked with a pair of soft, milk chocolate brown eyes that belonged to the new History of Magic professor.

Oliver Wood was watching her rather intently as she read her letter. Offering him a warm smile, she inclined her head in greeting then tore her gaze right away, but before she did she noticed a slight shade of pink crept up his neck before it exploded on his face. Could he be the one who sent her this letter?

_Oliver?_ she questioned herself, _Now why in the world would Oliver Wood be sending you a love letter, Ginny Weasley, huh?_ a voice at the back of her head demanded.

_Why indeed?_ she wondered. Oliver _was_ watching her as she read the letter and he _did_ blush when she caught him staring at her. _But Oliver?_ the same voice demanded, _C'mon girl, get real! He's cute and all, but he's a professor and not to mention a good friend of your brothers and Harry's as well. He can't be fancying you._

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He watched her smile fondly at the new professor. He saw her read his letter and noticed her confused look. She was wondering who the sender was. She looked around the entire hall in search of her secret admirer, but he was smart enough not to be caught. He watched her from the corner of his eye, noting that she was scanning the room very carefully.

His gut tightened and he had this sudden urge to punch the lights out of the new History of Magic professor when he saw the exchange between him and Ginny.

Why couldn't she be like that to him? Why couldn't he be the recipient of one of her warm smiles?

_You bloody well know why she couldn't look at you like that, you fool!_ a voice in his head scolded.

Yes. Of course he does know _why_ she couldn't look at him the way she did when she looked at Oliver, and he couldn't blame her for that. He was the one to be blamed for that. He didn't bother making the effort of becoming a friend to her, a good friend, as soon as he realized his feelings for her. Now he had to be content sending her anonymous love letters and watch her be friendly with someone else.

_You're a bloody idiot for letting her slip,_ that annoying voice scolded him.

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**A/N:** Jeez, seems like I got the second chapter out right away! *lol* Well, what do you think of _this_ one now? Can you guess _who_ Ginny's secret admirer is?

**A/N2:** btw, Ginny's secret admirer borrowed the lyrics to Simple Plan's _**Addicted**_

**spunkygabi:** that's the puzzle you gotta solve: WHO IS GINNY'S SECRET ADMIRER :::grins:::

**Kitty:** thanks for noticing that mistake of mine :::smiles:::

**Miss Marauder:** I _love_ **Dirty Dancing** and all the songs from that movie! And yes, I do know that Patrick Swayze song. thanks for the song ideas, I know I'll be using some of 'em if not all of 'em :::winks:::


	3. A Secret Admirer?

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her? 

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here. 

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** wow…thanks to all you who reviewed so far! Looks like Draco/Ginny fics are way too popular these days! Hehehe ;p 

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**III. A Secret Admirer? **

Ginny was still reeling from shock at having received an anonymous love letter over breakfast a couple of days before to actually pay attention to everything else she does. She went to all her classes as usual, but her mind kept on wandering off to whoever her secret admirer could be.

By Friday afternoon Abigail was already fed-up listening to her friend wonder about _who_ the letter sender was. Ginny couldn't stop talking about the damn letter and, after reading it herself, Abigail found it a bit too cute and romantic, but for the love of Merlin Ginny better give it a rest! She hasn't received any more letters after that one so maybe someone just wanted to play a little guessing game with her.

"Look, Ginny, you obviously got a secret admirer who hasn't made any further contact with you after he sent you _that_ love letter. If you think it was Oliver—which is preposterous, I tell ya—then why don't you go up to him and _ask_ him if he sent you the letter?" Abigail suggested before they turned the corner towards Gryffindor house.

Ginny stopped dead on her tracks and stared wide-eyed at the back of her friend's head.

"What? Abby, do you have any idea _what_ you just said?"

Abigail stopped walking and turned to frown at her friend, "Of course I do, Gin. I just told you to go up to Professor Wood and _confront_ him if he was the man behind that love letter you received."

"I can't do that!" she exclaimed, shaking her head in denial.

"And why not?" Abigail demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow.

"Because…just because," Ginny crossed her arms over her chest as well.

"Just because…" Abigail urged her friend to continue on, but Ginny looked like she was at a loss for words.

"Just 'cause," Ginny shrugged, "Don't ask me why. I won't ask Oliver if he was the one who sent me that letter because he might not even be the one who sent it."

"And yet you suspect it was him," it wasn't a question; it was more of an accusation.

"Well I have my suspicions," Ginny defended, "But that's not enough reason for me to confront him about it!" she argued.

Abigail's eyebrow rose an inch, "Well if that's what you think then _stop_ thinking about it! Has he made any more contact with you since his last letter?"

Ginny shook her head.

"There you go!" Abigail exclaimed, "Maybe whomever gave you that letter made it as a joke. Don't think too much about it."

Ginny thought about it for a while. Abigail could be right. Maybe somebody had some twisted idea in their head and decided to pick on her.

"That's a very sick joke if you ask me," Ginny murmured to herself.

Abigail shook her head and rolled her eyes skyward.

"Look, I'm going back to our dorm. Are you coming or not?"

"I'll…I'll be right there. Go on ahead," Ginny answered.

Abigail looked at her friend suspiciously, "You are not going to see Professor Wood and ask him about the letter, are you?"

"Of course not!" Ginny denied. She hadn't even thought about going through with Abigail's wacky suggestion! She was far too chicken to do that.

"Alright. If you say so," Abigail shrugged then turned her back to her friend.

Ginny was glad to be left alone to think. Abigail was a fun company, but her friend was far too upfront and bold compared to her. She only shared her suspicions with Abigail because she knew her friend would be the only one who would understand her. Abigail had these unrequited feelings for…well, for someone they know (Abigail didn't give her any names, but she told Ginny it was someone she knew _very well_). If anybody would be an expert when it came to this secret admirer thing, it would have to be Abigail since she had been pining for this one guy almost all her life as a student at Hogwarts.

Ginny was too preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't see Harry headed towards her. She just realized he was there when he grabbed her arms and shook her out of her trance. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even hear him talking to her.

"Ginny. Ginny, are you alright?" Harry asked worriedly when Ginny wouldn't snap out of her reverie.

Ginny blinked out of her sudden trance and stared into a pool of bright green eyes staring right into her brown ones. She knew those eyes…she daydreamed about losing herself in the depths of those green eyes for so long that she was bound to know it so damn well.

"Harry," she whispered his name as she slowly recovered from her daydreaming. _Could it be Harry that sent me that letter?_ she mentally asked herself, _Nah. Harry doesn't see you as more than just a sister, Gin,_ another voice at the back of her head answered.

Harry slowly let go of her then when she finally came through. Stepping back, he couldn't help himself from blushing at the sight of the youngest Weasley offspring. Over the years he watched Ginny Weasley grow; she was no longer that shy, awkward little girl he first met at Kings Cross when he wasn't sure how to get on to platform 9¾.. No, she definitely had grown up—and grew up nicely she did!

"Uh…Ginny, I was…I was just about to tell you that…uh…well, we'll resume practice for Quidditch at the end of the month—we need to get into shape before the start of the season in October," he stammered, blushing profusely and shifting from foot to foot.

"Oh. Thanks, Harry," she smiled.

"No problem," Harry smiled back then started to back away from her, "I'm just…I'm just going to go check on Ron and Hermione in the library. See you later, Ginny," he waved before taking off to follow his two best friends.

_No, it couldn't be Harry who sent me that letter,_ she told herself. _How can you be sure?_ another voice inquired, _Maybe he finally hit his head against a brick wall and woke up realizing what he had been missing all along: YOU!_

Ginny frowned at that thought. Sure she still fancied Harry a bit, but him suddenly realizing that he liked her back? It was more of a wishful thinking than reality. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

The identity of Ginny's secret admirer was pushed at the back of her mind after she hadn't heard from him in weeks. Abigail told her that if he really was interested in her, he would have made contact again after he sent her her first letter.

It was the weekend before the first Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Colin were all pumped-up, ready to beat the snot out of Slytherin whilst Ginny and the only other female member in the team, Terri-Lynn Maple, rolled their eyes at their rowdy teammates all throughout breakfast. They couldn't stop talking about the upcoming game that even Hermione was getting ready to stab her fork at her two best friends just to shut them up and concentrate on breakfast.

Ginny thought they wouldn't cease talking about Quidditch and the upcoming season, but thankfully the gods were favouring her this morning and halted the boys' discussion when the owls started flying in carrying some post. Ginny knew she wouldn't be receiving any letters from her mother (or her secret admirer since he hadn't sent him any in weeks now), but she still looked up hopefully at the soaring owls overhead waiting for a letter to be dropped to her; but nothing came.

"I told you, Gin, whomever sent you that love letter weeks ago only meant it as a joke," Abigail nudged her friend when she saw the forlorn look on Ginny's face.

Ginny lifted her gaze from the ham and sausage on her plate and met her friend's gaze, "But _why_ would anybody do something like that? It was such a sick, cruel joke."

Abigail doesn't know what to say to say. She only shrugged and resumed eating her breakfast. Ginny followed her friend's lead and returned her attention back to her breakfast. She was just about to take a bite off the sausage she forked when something dropped on her head and toppled down beside her plate.

Both Ginny and Abigail stopped what they were doing and stared at the cream enveloped with the same elegant scrawl adorning it. _Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House_ was written at the back of it once more.

"Oh my God!" Abigail squeaked and scooted closer to Ginny as her friend reached for the envelope and took out the letter inside.

_Anytime I need to see your face,  
I just close my eyes  
And I am taken to a place where  
your crystal mind and  
Magenta feelings take up shelter  
in the base of my spine  
Sweet like a chic-a-cherry cola  
  
I don't need to try and explain:  
I just hold on tight  
And if it happens again, I might  
move so slightly  
To the arms and lips and the  
face of the human cannonball  
That I need to, I want to  
  
Come stand a little bit closer  
Breathe in and get a bit higher  
You'll never know what hit you  
When I get to you  
  
Ooh, I want you  
I don't know if I need you  
But, ooh, I'd die to find out  
Ooh, I want you  
I don't know if I need you  
But, ooh, I'd die to find out  
  
I'm the kind of person who  
endorses  
a deep commitment  
Getting comfy getting perfect  
is what I live for  
But a look, then a smell of perfume  
It's like I'm down on the floor  
And I don't know what I'm in for  
  
Conversation has a time and a place  
In the interaction of a lover and  
a mate,  
But the time of talking  
using symbols, using words  
Can be likened to a deep sea diver  
who is swimming with a raincoat  
  
Ooh, I want you  
I don't know if I need you  
But, ooh, I'd die to find out  
Ooh, I want you  
I don't know if I need you  
But, ooh, I'd die to find out  
So can we find out?_

Ginny and Abigail stared dumbfounded at the letter in Ginny's hands. So Ginny's secret admirer strikes again.

"Oh my…" Ginny sighed as she read the letter over again.

"Oh my indeed, Ginny," Abigail agreed, "Whomever this admirer of yours is, based on what he just wrote there, he wants to get physical if not more than just getting physical."

Ginny could only nod her agreement. She still couldn't believe she received _another_ anonymous love letter (_if_ anybody could call what she had in her hand a love letter) from her admirer. Her head snapped up and her gaze quickly sought the teachers' table her eyes seeking Oliver's, but he was busy talking to Professor Flitwick at that very moment. A deep frown creased her forehead. _Shouldn't he be watching me like last time?_ she thought to herself as she continued to watch Oliver continue on with his animated conversation with the Charms professor. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

_Dammit! She was watching him again!_ he thought irately as he watched Ginny (discreetly of course) look over at the teacher's table where Oliver sat. _Why does she have to look at him every time she receives my damn letter? Couldn't she look elsewhere?_ his hands were balled into tight fists on the table as he tried to divert his gaze from Ginny's direction.

He was trying to carry on a conversation with his friends, but his concentration was focused entirely on Ginny. He waited a few weeks before he sent her another owl. He knew she wouldn't have guessed it was from him since she wouldn't have thought of _him_ as a prospective admirer, but dammit to hell, why does she have to check out Oliver every damn time she received _his_ letter? 

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**A/N:** hehehe, any of you guessed Ginny's admirer already? Based on your reviews it's a toss-up between Harry and Draco and only a few suggested somebody else. Well, I won't be divulging _his_ identity any time soon…you will have to read on & find out in later chapters _who_ he is…

**A/N2:** btw, our secret admirer borrowed Savage Garden's **_I Want You_** song this time :::winks:::

**Cally:** I couldn't resist on not bringing Oliver back, after all, he's too cute to resist! oh yeah, I'm picturing Sean Biggerstaff when I think of Oliver Wood *lol*

**Faltering Hues:** you like Oliver Wood too? hehehe, yeah, I like him too...actually, I enjoyed reading about him in the books _and_ feasting my eyes on him in the HP movies! Sean Biggerstaff :::drools::: hahahahaha

**slytherin-cool:** come to think of it, I don't have any obsession with previous students coming back to teach at Hogwarts, it just happened that way in _this_ story *lol* for _Defense_ I knew I had the bring them in coz...well, coz for obvious reasons :::grins:::

**Faxton:** thanks for the suggestion, and yes, I do know Live. I like their "Lightning Crashes" (or something like that) song and I heard "Dolphin's Cry" too, they're both good :::smiles:::

**Pebble of Insanity:** well keep your song ideas coming, hehehe, because I will sure need them as I continue on with this story :::smiles:::

**Krissy:** here's another chapter, and thanks for loving my story :::smiles:::

**MelissaAdams:** Poor Draco??? hmm...are you sure it's him? :::evil grin:::

**tolazytosignin:** oh no, I don't think Oliver will get hurt in any way, shape, or form :::grins::: I love Oliver too much to get hurt (of course I also love Draco & Harry so I don't want to see 'em get hurt too :::winks:::)

**Curly-Q:** thanks! and Ginny's got to think it was from someone...and Oliver was the lucky candidate, hehehe

**Kilmeny:** and that's the way I like it...you guys will think it's this person but then another hint and it will make you think it's this other person...hehehehe

**Starry:** *lol* thanks. that happens to me too. I'll be reading stories by somebody and not realizing it was all written by the same person

**Nissy:** I'm glad to be back too :::smiles::: and are you sure it's Harry???

**Cheater531:** no problem, I sure will keep you updated

**Junebug:** thank you!

**Crystal:** :::huggles you back::: my pleasure! glad you like, you like, you like *lol*

**sassw14:** Neville or Draco, eh? hehehehe, well just read on to find out...I'll try and drop as much hints as possible, but of course some of my hints could be damn misleading :::winks:::

**Emeryss Sedalia:** whether it's depressing or not, I will still take any song ideas from you guys. Who knows, maybe in one of Ginny's secret admirer's many "love letters" he'll be depressed and all and will try and relay that to her

**fyrechild:** thanks for liking my other stories as well as this one

**Kodomo Cow (_or_ Cowgirl Etcetera):** *lol* who do you think her admirer is?

**Talisa:** nope, I only "borrowed" the beginning part, but I so totally have a different idea on how her interaction with Draco would go, hehehehe

**vanns:** hmm...could be him...couldn't be him...hehehehe :::evil grin:::

**myobgirly:** I so totally agree with you that Oliver Wood is soooo hot! hehehehe

**Slytherin Child:** I have thought about finishing _Fallen for You_, but as it stands right now, I'm all out of ideas for it ::::pouts::: but once I get some more ideas for the next chapter to that fic, I'll let you know when I post it up. As for the admirer...I'll keep you guessing until you lose all your hair on your head *lol* no, please don't lose your hair because that'll be bad...uhm...Oliver is back and he's cuter than ever *lol* that's all I can say for now and nope, I _won't_ reveal Ginny's secret admirer's identity any time soon yet

**Noelle:** _muchos gracias!_ I will try and update as often as I can

**AngryMew2:** thanks!

**wowsergirl:** thank you, thank you, thank you! and are you sure it's Draco, Draco, Draco??? hehehehe

**SAKURAnTOKYO:** hehehe, it's a D/G ship all right, but _when_ it will start we don't know yet, hehehehe

**Kitty:** :::hugs back::: thanks, and I hope I keep you guys in suspense long enough and not get bored with guessing who's her secret admirer

**spunkygabi:** *lol* yep, Oliver is a cutie indeedy, but are you sure it ain't him??? hehehehe

**December's Girl:** hmm...so far it's a toss-up between Draco & Harry...who do _really_ think is behind her letters?

**TickleBoom76:** Simple Plan's awesome! *lol* my sister got me hooked on their songs and now I am stealing her Simple Plan CD coz I wanna listen to their songs, hehehehe

**OpalKoboi:** wow...thanks for the song lyrics! it might come in handy in future chapters


	4. This Is Serious

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her? 

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here. 

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** I know you all know that I update a chapter a day (or sometimes more than one chapter a day), but due to work and other things going on in my life right now, updates will be pretty slow. I'll be lucky if I could finish a chapter and have it loaded up per day, but as it stands I won't be updating on a daily basis. We'll see if it's going to be a weekly update, but so far it looks like it's going to be every other day or after every two days. 

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**IV. This Is Serious **

If Abigail was pessimistic about Ginny's secret admirer before, now she was as drawn into this mystery as Ginny was. They looked over the two letters Ginny received. It was from the same person no doubt about it since it came in the same cream-coloured envelope used the first time with the same elegant scrawl on it. The piece of parchment had its sides burnt once more to make an attractive border. Whoever was fancying Ginny went through so much trouble disclosing his identity; the handwriting on the envelope and letter couldn't be his; it was too good of a penmanship for it to belong to a guy.

"I give up!" Ginny exclaimed and threw the quill she was using on the table she was sharing with Abigail in the Gryffindor common room.

Abigail looked up from her History of Ancient Runes essay she was working on and frowned at her friend. They were quietly studying for their respective classes and as far as she was concerned their Divinations' homework wasn't that hard. What could Ginny possibly be complaining about?

"Come on, Gin, Trelawny's questions weren't that hard!" she cajoled and set down her quill and parchment on the table.

Ginny turned her angry glare from the piece of parchment she was looking at earlier to her friend.

"I'm not complaining about Trelawny's assignment. It's chicken feed compared to what's bothering me," she muttered, kicking the leg of the table. Tilting her chair back on its hind legs, Ginny balanced herself and returned her glaring eyes back on her assignment lying on the table.

Abigail raised an eyebrow, tilting her chair on its hind legs as well, "Let me take a wild stab at what's troubling you, shall I?"

"By all means, do so," Ginny urged.

"Your secret admirer," Abigail didn't have to think hard for the answer.

"_Argh!_ Can't we give him a different name? Calling him 'secret admirer' is too clichéd," she complained.

"And what do you suggest we call him then—_Prince Charming?_" her friend asked wryly.

"I don't know if he's a prince, but he's definitely _not_ charming me!" complained Ginny.

"Hmm…_Annoying_ Prince Charming perhaps?" Abigail suggested.

Ginny thought about the nickname her friend came up with and scrunched her forehead, "He _is_ starting to annoy me alright, but that name's a mouthful for me."

"Then let's settle on giving it an acronym. He's APC—that's _less_ of a mouthful if you ask me, Gin," Abigail beamed.

"APC," Ginny muttered the acronym under her breath, "Hmm…yeah, that's much easier to say _and_ more original," she nodded.

"Great," Abigail clapped her hands and set her chair in an upright position once again, "So APC's bugging you still, huh?" she asked on a more serious tone.

"Yeah. I know it's been a week now since I got his second letter and I haven't heard from him since, but even you think that whoever my APC is, he's _serious_ about me based on his last letter."

"Well I was persuaded to believe that it wasn't just a joke anymore when you received his first letter. I mean, _why_ would any guy waste their time going through all the trouble your APC obviously went through just to get you those two letters?"

Ginny pouted and put her chair back in an upright position. Resting her elbows on the table, she rested her cheeks on her fisted hands and let out a long, exasperated sigh. _Why_ indeed would anyone go through all the trouble her APC went through if he wasn't serious about her?

Abigail returned back to finishing up her History of Ancient Runes' essay. She wanted to have it done and out of the way so she would be able to concentrate on tomorrow's Quidditch match. As always Gryffindor and Slytherin matches were something to look forward to since both houses had been rivals for ages (and Harry often kicks Malfoy's arse), it was a big event for all Gryffindor students to cheer their team on.

Ginny tried to concentrate back on her Divinations' assignment, but she couldn't seem to get her brain to function properly. She was thinking of her APC way too much to understand what she was reading for Professor Trelawny's class.

She was busy fingering through her book when an owl quickly swooped in to the quiet common room and dropped yet another cream-coloured envelope before flying out of the open window on the second floor. Ginny quickly snapped out of her trance and even Abigail looked up from the essay she was writing when she heard the soft scraping of paper on wooden table. Everyone in the common room (there wasn't that many of them, just some of the boys in the team talking about tomorrow's game, a couple of seventh years and some first years toiling with their assignments or projects) looked at Ginny and Abigail's direction; it wasn't a common occurrence for an owl to swoop right in the middle of the common at this time of the night and deliver a letter for any one of the students. They were all curious as to who the letter recipient was, and when they saw the owl drop the letter at Ginny's table they all raised an eyebrow.

"Oi, Ginny! Who's the letter from?" asked a surprised Ron.

"It's none of your business, Ron," Ginny answered back, snatching the letter and holding on to it for dear life just in case Ron decided to act childish and snatch the letter from her.

"Is it from your boyfriend we don't know about, Gin?" Dean Thomas, one of the chasers in their team, asked teasingly.

Ginny glared at dark haired, dark eyed seventh year boy. "I said it's _none_ of your business whoever sent me this letter," she repeated more sternly. She got up from her seat and gathered all her stuff. If she wanted to read the letter and not have her brothers or any one of her teammates to stick their nose in to her business, she had to leave the common room and seek out the sanctity of her room.

Abigail followed suit and gathered all her stuff off the table as well. She followed Ginny up the stairs and closed the door after her once they reached their bedroom.

"Is it from him?" she asked excitedly after depositing all her stuff on her bed.

Ginny dropped her book, quill, inkbottle, and parchments on the floor by her bed and jumped on her comfy four-poster bed. She turned the envelope and saw _Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House_ written on it with the same scrawl as the other two. She looked up at her excited friend and nodded.

"Well? What are you waiting for? _Open it!_"

Ginny didn't need to be told twice what to do. She opened the envelope and took out the usual burnt-bordered parchment, but unlike the other two, another small parchment (the borders were burnt as well) fell from it and landed on Ginny's crossed legs.

"What's this?" she asked out loud and picked up the parchment. Her brown eyes widened as she read what was written on it:

_I wish you good luck and a safe match tomorrow. _

It was left unsigned as well, which only made Ginny wonder _who_ her APC could be. The handwriting on the smaller piece of parchment was a bit different from the one on the previous letters she received, but when she glanced at the other letter, she noticed that the handwriting on that parchment was the same as the other two. She handed the note to Abigail then went on to read the other letter.

_I haven't slept at all in days  
It's been so long since we've talked  
And I have been here many times  
I just don't know what I'm doing wrong  
  
What can I do to make you love me  
What can I do to make you care  
What can I say to make you feel this  
What can I do to get you there  
  
There's only so much I can take  
And I just got to let it go  
And who knows I might feel better, yeah  
If I don't try and I don't hope  
  
What can I do to make you love me  
What can I do to make you care  
What can I say to make you feel this  
What can I do to get you there  
  
No more waiting, no more, aching...  
No more fighting, no more, trying...  
  
Maybe there's nothing more to say  
And in a funny way I'm calm  
Because the power is not mine  
I'm just going to let it fly_

_What can I do to make you love me  
What can I do to make you care  
What can I say to make you feel this  
  
And love me... love me..._

Abigail, who was reading over Ginny's shoulder, couldn't help her jaw from dropping as she read the love poem (this had got to be a love poem—as well as the other two Ginny received from her APC).

"Oh dear, Gin, I think you have an obsessed, serious admirer here!" she exclaimed and looked at her friend's stunned face. "Do you have _any_ idea other than Oliver as to _whom_ he might be?"

"I—I suspected the person to be Harry as well, but it can't be him," she replied, her eyes glued on the letter still.

Abigail frowned, "_Harry?_" she questioned.

Ginny looked at her friend then and matched her frown, "Well, I _have_ to set some varied options, don't I?"

"I know, but _what_ made you think it was Harry?" she wanted to know.

"I don't know," Ginny shrugged, "Maybe it was because of the way he acted around me when we flagged me down on my way back to our dorm last week. Besides, it was just a fleeting thought—it doesn't mean much obviously."

"Uh-huh. Yeah, sure," Abigail nodded, but she didn't sound convinced at all.

Ginny's brow knotted into a deep frown, watching her friend's face closely before a light bulb suddenly lit up inside her head. _Of course! How could I be so clueless as to not figure it out?_ she smiled triumphantly then and held Abigail's gaze a while longer, making the other girl all fidgety and nervous as hell.

"W-why are you looking at me like that?" she started to look a bit shifty, breaking eye contact from Ginny and she moved away from her.

"You fancy Harry, don't you Abby? I mean, _he's_ that person whom you have unrequited feelings for, right?"

"_What?_" Abigail looked scandalized and her face suddenly looked all blotchy red, "You've gone completely bonkers, you know that? I mean _me_ fancying _Harry Potter?_" she chuckled nervously, "Yeah, me and how many hundreds of adoring female students at Hogwarts fancies the pants off him! Please Ginny, give me a break!"

But Ginny wasn't convinced. Abigail Wilson likes Harry Potter. It was _that_ obvious really.

"If you say so, Abby," Ginny decided to drop the subject for now. Abigail looked like she would burst any second now if she continued to prod her about the boy she fancied. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

A predominantly white-coated owl with a bit of light brown colour splashed unevenly on its head and neck landed on the waiting arm of its master after it made its delivery. He pulled out a small piece of cracker from the inside pocket of his robes and let his pet nibble on it.

"Good job, Canice," he patted the owl's head as he looked up at the tower his owl just came from. He knew it was where the Gryffindor students were housed and one of the lit rooms was her bedroom, but which one he could not tell.

"Sleep well, my fair Ginny," he bid the young woman who has haunted his dreams for so long and took one last longing look at the tower where she resided before turning his back to walk back into the castle to get some rest himself. Canice would have to stay with him tonight; his owl could go back to the owlery tomorrow. 

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**A/N:** okay, a lot of people are pointing that it's _Draco_ who is the admirer and some are speculating on Harry as well. Obviously Oliver Wood is out for the running as Ginny's secret admirer, but you're still left with quite a few guys to choose from: Harry, Draco (the two obvious ones), Colin, Seamus, Dean, Neville, Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise…hehehehe so happy guessing :::grins:::

**A/N2:** btw, this time our APC's (courtesy of Ginny & Abigail, hehehehe :::winks:::) love letter is the Corrs' **_What Can I Do_**

**Alexa:** I used to be an N'Sync fan, but not anymore (I grew up and out of my boy-band phase *lol*) and I remembered loving that song of theirs, thanks for suggesting it!

**Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey:** moi, killing you? :::looks innocent::: whatever the heck are you talking about, my dear? hehehehe :::evil grin::: and yay! you updated! I'll be checking it out soon

**Krissy:** thanks for liking the fact that the whole secret admirer is...well, a secret! *lol*

**Faltering Hues:** thanks, and keep on thinking who Ginny's _APC_ is (gawd, I like that code name of theirs for this guy *lol*). and yeah, I enjoyed reading all about Oliver's escapades in the third book. loved it when one of the twins told Harry Oliver was probably drowning himself in the shower after they lost to Hufflepuff & when Oliver yelled at Harry to stop ogling at Cho Chang during their match against Ravenclaw *lol*

**dreamofTF:** everybody's hopeful it's Draco...let's just hope it _is_ Draco :::grins:::

**Miss Marauder:** I told you I'll be using as much of the songs you guys suggest as best as I can--and so far I'm getting so many suggestions for really good songs, I don't think I'll be running out of 'em *lol*

**MelissaAdams:** so you liked those two songs, eh? hehehe, good for ya! I love 'em too! oh yeah, and keep on guessing :p but if you're _really_ sure it's Draco then stick wi what you believe, hehehe

**Crystal:** *lol* of course I ain't offended...I'm sure if I'm the guy who's sending the girl I like love letters I'd be very careful not to get caught..._especially_ if I'm really a very shy person, hehehe

**MiSs-BeHaVe:** *lol* that's alright...actually it was through my listening to Simple Plan songs that gave me an idea for this next fic. And based on the title, yes, it was _I'd Do Anything_ that inspired me to write this story

**avapouhi:** you don't think I'll make it easy for you guys to guess _who_ Ginny's secret admirer is, do you know? hehehe

**Lia:** thanks for liking Abigail...I'm trying to make her as spunky as I possibly can coz...well, to make her a complete opposite of Ginny and maybe--_just_ maybe--she might rub off some of her spunkiness to our always timid and shy Ginny Weasley, hehehe :::winks::: as for her crush...wanna guess _who_ he could be too? 

**Nissy:** yep, it's a choice between Harry & Draco and a lot are favouring Draco being the secret admirer, but I still say keep on guessing *lol*

**Slytherin Child:** uh-oh! please don't go bald by the end of this story! uhm...that won't be a pretty sight, I tell ya that now :::grins::: the D/G interaction will happen again soon...remember, the next day's match is against Slytherin and Ginny's playing Quidditch this year so she'll be interacting with Malfoy at the pitch *lol*

**wowsergirl:** *lol* good theory...but don't you think by putting "_of Gryffindor House_" is just a ploy to steer her off thinking her admirer could be someone she knows?

**Bluecolouredroses:** so you're torn between guessing which one of the two hotties (_yes_, Draco & Harry are both hotties in my book! *lol*), huh? I'll try and give out some more hints as to _who_ Ginny's APC is

**CiNdY:** hehehe, so you're hell bent it's Draco behind the letters, eh? hmm...

**ChaoticSlytherin:** and you think it's a toss-up between Draco & Harry behind the letters, eh? and you don't like Abigail's know-it-all attitude? I thought I'd make her sound _and_ act like a biatch coz...well, coz she needed to be in contrast with Ginny *lol*

**tigereyes320:** I'm not sure just what lengths her admirer would go through, but hey, if I get stuck I'll be bouncing off ideas with you (like in _Defense_ when I got stuck writing the final chapter, hehehe, btw, thanks again for your help there!)

**junebug:** oh, you're not the only one who got freaked out concerning a secret admirer. I remember when I was in the 6th grade I received this letter from someone and it was handed to me by then now ex-best friend (she turned out to be a first class biatch and I soooooo hate her up to this day!), I didn't realize it then but after 6th grade I kinda figured _she_ decided to play a cruel joke on me back then 

**December's Girl:** who says he was watching her from the other side of the room? ::evil grin:: he could be watching her right across from her at the Gryffindor table or he was seated way down or way up the Gryffindor table...I really don't recall mentioning he was watching her from across the room; he was just watching her

**Faxton:** did you remember that good song that slipped your mind when you reviewed? hehehe and a Ginny/Blaise pairing just to throw people off, eh? *lol* _that_ would be a big surprise if the admirer turned out to be him...well, not really, but we'll see

**Neni Potter:** yeah, Oliver likes Ginny, but we're not sure if he likes her as a sister _or_ if he fancies her. a blushing Harry & a missing Draco...hmm....guess you'll just have to find out :::grins:::

**Cally:** *lol* he'll probably be close to boiling point by then and would probably march up to her, haul her off her seat, and started shaking her all the while that he was screaming at her that _he_ (whomever he is, hehehe) is the one who has been sending her those love letters

**Sperm Pantied:** if you have a few in mind that would go with the story, by all means I'm open to suggestions and I might be able to find the time to squeeze it in to this story somehow :::smiles:::

***karly*:** *lol* thanks for the optimistic review! *lol* talk to you later, although I'm rarely on MSN nowadays :-/

**Ravyn Nyte:** I won't argue with you on that. Draco is indeed yummy :::giggles::: and our secret admirer's identity will be revealed...in later chapters, hehehehe :::winks:::

**SAKURAnTOKYO:** thanks! *lol*

**Loves-Kiss:** thanks, and all I can say is...uh...well, this is starting to sound too redundant but CONTINUE ON GUESSING *lol*

**Curly-Q:** but we mustn't really not count Oliver out as _not_ fancying Ginny even if he ain't her secret admirer...who knows, maybe he's asked someone to send those letters to her...there's a whole lotta possiblities! *lol*

**Talisa:** yeah, chic-a-cherry-cola is a very cute, catchy nickname! *lol* use it some other time, and as soon as this is posted, I promise you I'll be reading your story (along with the other stories I have to update myself on) *lol*

**Blu Misterie:** yeah, it's been a while since I came across your pen name on here...well, rest assured that...nah, just keep on guessing *lol* Ginny's admirer could be Draco or Harry or anybody else who knows her

**Kitty:** whoa! some major deep-insights there, girlie! *lol* take it easy and you're reading way into this story plot...which is really amazing and cute and fun and...well, impressive? hehehe

**GirlAngel:** thanks for falling in love with my story, hehehe

**Eva:** :::blush::: awww, shucks, thanks! and this will eventually become a D/G fic since...well, since currently I am _obsessed_ with writing Draco/Ginny stories *lol* now _how_ it will become a D/G story I still do not know...or maybe I _do_ know but I'm just not sharing... :::evil cackle:::


	5. Ginny's Accident

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her? 

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here. 

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** so you're all thinking its Draco, eh? Hmmm…let's see now Oliver is out of the running as Ginny's APC and somebody mentioned that Harry's out of the running as well…so _who_ could he be really??? Hehehehe, :::sings that annoying _Don't Say a Word_ song::: I'll never tell… 

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**V. Ginny's Accident **

It was already two hours in to the first match of the season against Gryffindor and Slytherin. The game was starting to get more and more rowdy as each player started to feel the fatigue of the last two hours as the chasers kept on outrunning the opposing team's chasers and the four beaters beating the black bludgers with all their might. Harry and Draco, who were both too keen on keeping an eye out for the golden snitch, were starting to feel the fatigue of their long day's work, but that didn't stop the two seventh years from throwing insults at one another at every given opportunity presented to them.

Ginny kept a watchful eye at Harry and Draco; they kept on arguing so damn much that neither one of them was paying much attention to the snitch's whereabouts. She was already getting tired of being kicked, shoved, pushed, and nearly thrown off her broomstick by the aggressive Slytherin players and still both team's seekers were slugging it off with insults thrown back and forth.

"I swear those two better stop arguing or this game will never end!" complained Ginny when she flew near her brother, "They've been at it since the beginning of the game. Will they ever run out of insults to call each other?"

Ron looked over his shoulder at his best friend then turned his gaze to the blond haired Slytherin who had be the bane of his very existence since he started attending Hogwarts seven years ago. Harry looked like he was winning judging from the look of agitation on Malfoy's face; seems like the slimeball who often had something smartly insulting to say was running out of ammunition to fire at Harry.

"Who cares!" Ron called back to his sister, "Looks like Malfoy's losing this match anyway!"

Ginny glared at her brother for not giving a damn about the end result of this game. Slytherin was ahead with just twenty points; if Harry caught the snitch now Gryffindor will win against Slytherin once again.

"Look Gin, just concentrate on getting the quaffle through the hoops—let Harry take care of Malfoy!" Ron suggested.

_Yeah, easier said than done when you're not really the one getting their arse kicked!_ Ginny thought bitterly then darted her broomstick downward towards Dean who was busy running after a runaway Slytherin clutching the orange quaffle under his arm.

Randy Mason was busy dodging Dean's advance that he didn't see Ginny coming from his left side where he was clutching the quaffle.

"Don't mind if I take this," Ginny quipped casually as she punched the quaffle from Randy's arm and caught it. She gave her opponent a triumphant grin and a mock salute while clutching the quaffle under one arm and zoomed back up to head towards the Slytherin goal posts.

"Bitch," Randy hissed when Ginny managed to sneak up on him. Ignoring Dean, he pulled his broomstick up and went after Ginny who was fast approaching the goal posts to score some points for Gryffindor.

"Ginny, you got a tail!" Terri-Lynn called to her before hitting a bludger towards Randy's direction, but the damn Slytherin boy was good a ducking and escaped Terri-Lynn's bludger.

Ginny risked a quick glance over her shoulder to see if Terri-Lynn's bludger at least nicked Randy's broomstick, but her teammate's attempt at losing the angry Slytherin chaser seemed futile.

"He's gaining at you, Gin!" called Seamus Finnigan who tried his luck at hitting the bludger at Randy's direction, but to no avail as well.

"I can't shake him off!" Ginny called to her two other teammates.

Ron and Dean were doing their best to chase Randy off, but their broomsticks were no match to the Slytherin's latest Nimbus model.

"_Fuck!_" Ginny hissed under her breath and leaned closer to the handle hoping to gain more speed. She was still a few yards away from the hoops and she couldn't lose this damn chaser who wasn't just after the quaffle in her arm; he looked like he was after her blood too!

She pulled her broomstick up and soared higher than normal in the hopes of losing her opponent. As she was soaring up two flashes of red-gold colours and green-silver colours zoomed on either side of her. She caught sight of Harry and Draco racing to get to the snitch first.

_Oh thank God they finally stopped arguing!_ she silently a prayer, _This game will finally be over and this damn Slytherin will be off my tail!_

Ginny flew high and flew fast with Randy fast approaching her tail. She knew he wouldn't leave her alone until she let go of the quaffle. Doing a quick scan of the pitch, she saw Dean flying towards the pitch just in case she decided to pass the quaffle to him before Randy get to her. Ron, on the other hand, was still on Randy's tail. She did a quick calculation in her head and realized it would be wise if she threw the quaffle at Ron and get her brother to race towards the goal posts.

"Ron, _catch!_" she called to her brother and threw the quaffle at him. Randy made a grab for the flying orange ball, but it missed his fingers by a few inches. Ron caught the ball and quickly raced towards the Slytherin goal posts. "_Hurry Ron!_" his sister cried as he flew as fast as he could.

Ginny tailed her brother now and kept a close eye out for any of the other Slytherin chasers that might do a surprise attack on Ron. They needed to make this goal so badly that she was willing to go against Crabbe, Goyle, (yes those two large lumps of flab made it to their house team) and Randy to protect her brother from being attacked. It was weird how _she_ felt overly protective of her brother and Ron…well, he was over protective of her, but not when they were playing Quidditch!

Terri-Lynn and Seamus were able to set Crabbe and Goyle off course with their bludgers, but Randy stood strong. What confused Ginny though was Randy's obsession of tailing _her_ even though she no longer had the quaffle.

Ron was finally near Dean and passed the quaffle on to him to make the score—and he did, to everyone's delight. Ginny squealed in excitement when the announcer screamed over the enchanted megaphone that Slytherin now leads by just ten points. She was too pumped up cheering for her fellow teammate that she didn't see Randy speeding towards her with his arm stretched out and knocked her off her broomstick.

Ginny wobbled and tried to grab on to her broomstick, but the force of Randy's shove was too much that she missed grabbing the handle and fell some seventy feet off the ground.

"_Holy shit!_" Ginny's alarmed squeal when the announcer yelled out who caught the snitch.

"SLYTHERIN WINS THE GAME!" screamed the baffled announcer as he stared at Draco Malfoy holding the walnut sized ball. Even Malfoy looked stunned at having won a game against Gryffindor. Harry Potter was nowhere to be found near Malfoy at that very moment. In fact, he hadn't been neck-to-neck with Malfoy during the last few seconds before Malfoy got a hold of the snitch.

"_Ginny!_" Harry's alarmed cry caught the attention of everyone watching—even the other players—as they watched the Gryffindor seeker speed up to catch his falling teammate.

The rest of the Gryffindor team members scrambled to get as near as Ginny as possible in the hopes of catching her before she hit the ground and broke her neck, but they were all scattered about the pitch and Ginny was falling really fast.

"Oh God," she sobbed and closed her eyes. She knew nobody would be able to help her now and let the gods and the fates do whatever they wanted with her. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself to hit the ground with a loud thud, but then a pair of large, strong arms caught her just as she was about thirty feet from the ground.

"_Gotcha!_" smiled her saviour as he pressed his smiling lips at the crown of her head.

Ginny's eyes shot wide open as soon as she felt her unlikely saviour plant a kiss on her head. She moved a little just to be sure that she was indeed caught and saved from further arm. She kept on wriggling until she felt the chest she was pressed against rumble from his low chuckling.

"Quit moving, Weasley, or we'll both fall off the broomstick. I just barely caught you, you know? Good thing I was nearest to you. The least you could do is say thanks."

Ginny frowned and quickly looked up and stared into the depths of those big, hazel (almost greenish in shade right now as he looked down at her) eyes that could only belong to…

"_Zambini!_" Ginny exclaimed and tried to push him away from her.

"Whoa, _whoa!_ Calm down Weasley. I just saved your life—please don't try and take _both_ our lives now," Blaise Zambini, one of the Slytherin beaters, held on to Ginny's waist tightly as he manoeuvred his broomstick back towards where the rest of her teammates were congregated at awaiting for their arrival.

Ginny knew it would be wise to do what he told her to do. She was, after all, precariously held against him; any slight movement from her and it would unbalance the broomstick, causing them both to break their necks in the process. So she let herself relax…in the arms of Blaise Zambini! 

God, who would've thought she'd be able to do _that_ with the likes of this very tall (according to school gossip, Blaise Zambini just towered over Draco Malfoy by a two inches in height—and Draco Malfoy stood six foot one!) Slytherin heartthrob (next to Malfoy, Blaise was considered a hottie in school. Hermione—and even Abigail—mentioned to her that nowadays Blaise looked so much like that actor who plays young Clark Kent from the television series _Smallville_, a muggle show that Ginny only saw once when Abigail dragged her to her place over the summer and they watched reruns—a muggle term for shows being re-shown over the summer holiday—of Abigail's current favourite TV series). 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

He breathed a sigh of relief once he knew she was safe. He didn't know what to think when he saw her falling some fifty to seventy feet off the ground. His heart was pounding so hard, banging against his chest. He wanted to do something right there and then; conjure a large net to break her fall; conjure up a whirlwind to cushion her fall; hell, he thought of just about _everything_ he could think of doing to rescue her, praying to all the gods and fates above to spare her life. She wouldn't survive that damn fall if he—or anyone else at the pitch—couldn't get to her on time.

_But she's safe now,_ a calm, soothing voice spoke at the back of his head. He smiled inwardly, releasing a content sigh as he watched her be engulfed in big bear hugs by her teammates. She looked so panicked when she was falling, and even more so when she realized who was her rescuer, but after a while she relaxed and was that a look of relief he glimpsed on her face?

He swore he could knock Randy Mason's teeth down his throat, but that sort of action might land him an expulsion from Hogwarts, so he resorted to _mentally_ beating Randy Mason to a pulp. 

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

**A/N:** hmmm…another hint there for ya folks! :::chuckles::: hmm…_who_ could APC be? Do you know? Do you? Do you???? Hehehe, well, keep on guessing and I'll do my best to give out more clues about our APC's identity.

**mavis:** I thought I wouldn't write another D/G fic too, but seems like I'm _obsessed_ with this pairing so here I am writing yet another fic about 'em once more! hehehe

**Blu Misterie:** you _lurve_ Draco as well as the next girl within...uhm...well, all over the world I should say! *lol*

**MelissaAdams:** now _how_ are we gonna get some D/G action when they _barely_ interact with each other? hehehe :::wink:::

**Loves-Kiss:** plain cruel and unusual yet you want some more?! *lol* now _why_ did you say it's cruel and unusual? is it because I ain't saying _who_ Ginny's APC is?

**Crystal:** I know what you mean when you say it's only 5 in the afternoon & already you're sleepy! *lol* I am like that all the time...and a mushy-romantic Crabbe or Goyle? are they even capable of that?! *lol* btw, those two actors who played Crabbe & Goyle in the movies were kinda cute and adorable, hehehehe

**Emeryss Sedalia:** thanks for the site, I'll be sure to check those out when I am running out of song ideas to use as our APC's love letter to Ginny

**Kitty:** awww...a C?! :::looks shocked::: now _how_ in the world did that happen? uh-uh, _you_ need to concentrate more on your studies, missy, hehehehe :::winks:::

**Sperm Pantied:** I'm kinda afraid I'll run out of songs to use for this fic, but so far so good. as I browse online I keep on finding songs that might be useful for this fic

**December's Girl:** *lol* okay, okay, calm down...take a deep breath...now exhale...inhale...exhale...calm now? :::chuckles::: well I think that after the last couple of chapters _Harry_ is also out of the running as our beloved APC...

**pheonixfire123:** :::huge, dopey smile::: thanks! that means a lot to me 

**Faxton:** oh, I love that Leann Rimes song! thanks for reminding me! hehehehe, and you're a big Ginny/Blaise shipper? hmm...interesting...hehehe

**MiSs-BeHaVe:** he's stalking her all right, and of course she's clueless about him following her around--well, _almost_. he's got to be really discreet ya know, and he shouldn't raise any suspicion from his friends...and...uhm...I dunno if I gave enough clues in _this_ chapter as to who he is, but we've already established that it's not Oliver _and_ it's not Harry

**GirlAngel:** now, now, no need for threats, hehehe

**sassw14:** hehehe, well, it's _not_ Harry who's been sending her those letters. we finally got _that_ straightened out.

**Faltering Hues:** well...I try to stay away from the computer and work less on this fic, but seems like every time I do, I always end up with so many ideas that I know I just _have_ to continue on with it.

**Cally:** I don't think Ginny will be _hoping_ it's Harry even if she still has a teeny-bit of a crush on him...but Ginny's got a crush on someone else...hehehe, can you guess _who?_ ::winks::

**purus.flere:** I dunno yet...maybe I'll reveal our APC's identity in the middle of this fic _or_ at the end--I'm still deciding.

**Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey:** thanks for the the song idea, I'll be sure to look up the lyrics to that one. and of course I have to give you guys so many options to choose from...just to make it a tad bit more...uhm...well, interesting? *lol*

**dracos-gurl:** of course I'm back! *lol* can't seem to keep myself away from writing _this_ pairing, hehehe

**Lia:** *lol* well....we'll see if there's going to be an Abby/Harry romance...overprotective Ron is kinda funny to write but sometimes way too annoying to read about *lol*

**Miss Marauder:** well this week it didn't start off nicely at work so I'm looking at a somewhat _miserable_ wekk for me :::pouts::: good thing I have this fic to write to keep me entertained! *lol*

**Bluecolouredroses:** I fell in love with the Corrs right after I heard _I Never Really Loved You Anyway_, they're a kickass group! hehehe

**Neni Potter:** well it's not Harry, that's for sure. and we already know that it ain't Oliver. so you're left with...oooh, Draco, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, Colin, Seamus, Dean, Neville, and some other character *lol*

**SAKURAnTOKYO:** no, that's not it..._yet_, hehehehe, Ginny will have a fun time figuring out _who_ her APC is

**August:** pick up the clues and examine them carefully, I'm sure you'll be able to figure out _who_ our APC is

**Junebug:** lucky you! I hate her (my ex-best friend) now more than ever. oh well, thank goodness nobody played anymore jokes on me since then :::Grins:::

**Anyanka:** I got that name from one of my dad's friend's kids. Her name's Abigail and we call her Abby for short. while thinking up names for Ginny's friend, that's the first one that popped into my head.

**spunkygabi:** hmm...nice suggestion...I'll see if I can actually come up with a chapter based solely on our APC's POV _without_ revealing his true identity...

**wowsergirl:** well it's _not_ Harry...but the other boys from Gryffindor could still be a candidate :::winks:::

**Xiaoyu Ling:** everybody's saying it's Draco...so _maybe_ it is him *lol* but I'm not confirming your theory :::grins:::

**DRACO!!!!:** *lol* not a Gryff, eh? hmm...we'll see....


	6. Another APC Prospect

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** Well, after posting that last chapter I kinda had a hard time figuring out _what_ to do next for this chapter. Thankfully I had a couple of days to work it out and now here I am, back and it's the weekend…yay! I got a party to go to tonight. Its at work and our company's celebrating its 25th year anniversary. We're going to Playdium—yippeee!!! But alas, I ain't allowed to get drunk coz I'm gonna be driving home :::pouts:::

**PhoenixRae's Notes 2:** Since I started off using "Zambini" even though I knew it was wrong, I kinda am too lazy to go back and redo it so for now I'll stick with using that spelling for Blaise's last name, alright? Anyway thank you to all those who corrected me. Since I rarely use Blaise in any of my fics, I am not really sure _how_ his (or maybe her, hehehe) is spelt. 

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

**VI. Another APC Prospect **

Ginny rolled to her side and was awakened when she felt something pecking on the back of her hand. She swiped at whatever it was to stop, but two seconds later the pecking started again. Growling into her pillow at being interrupted while sleeping, she opened her eyes and was ready to glare down at the merry prankster disrupting her peaceful slumber when she suddenly stifled a scream and almost fell off her bed backwards at the sight of the large owl perched by her pillow. On its beak clamped three fully bloomed red roses while on its leg a rolled-up parchment was tied bearing the same border that the parchment where her last three letters written on.

Sitting up straight, she took the roses from the owl's beak and quickly sniffed its wonderful fragrance. Setting the roses on her pillow, she reached over and untied the parchment from the owl's leg and unrolled it. The predominantly white owl hooted, begging for a treat for the service it rendered.

Ginny gave the owl an apologetic smile and rubbed its head.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm afraid I ran out of treats to give away. But if you stick around for a while, when Abby wakes up I'll ask her if she had any treats left, OK?" she promised the bird.

The owl hooted its agreement and gently nipped her fingertip. Ginny smiled back and turned her gaze back on the piece of parchment in her hands. Unlike his previous letters, this time he started his letter yet a bit more differently than the last time.

_Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House, _

_Hope you are feeling better after yesterday's intense game…enjoy the  
roses…its sweet, delicate scent reminds me so much of you… _

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

When the visions around you,  
Bring tears to your eyes  
And all that surround you,  
Are secrets and lies  
I'll be your strength,  
I'll give you hope,  
Keeping your faith when it's gone  
The one you should call,  
Was standing here all along…

And I will take  
You in my arms  
And hold you right where you belong  
Till the day my life is through  
This I promise you

I've loved you forever,  
In lifetimes before  
And I promise you never...  
Will you hurt anymore  
I give you my word  
I give you my heart

And with this vow,  
Forever has now begun...

Just close your eyes  
Each loving day  
I know this feeling won't go away  
Till the day my life is through  
This I promise you…

Over and over I fall  
When I hear you call  
Without you in my life baby  
I just wouldn't be living at all...

And I will take  
You in my arms  
And hold you right where you belong  
Till the day my life is through  
This I promise you baby

Just close your eyes  
Each loving day (each loving day)  
I know this feeling won't go away (no..)  
Every word I say is true  
This I promise you

Every word I say is true  
This I promise you  
Ooh, I promise you...

"Oooooh my God!" Abigail giggled after she read the letter Ginny's APC sent her. "He's such a sweetheart, Gin! And the roses," she put the letter down and leaned over to Ginny's side table where the three roses were placed in a crystal vase and inhaled the its scent, "These roses are simply gorgeous!" 

Ginny watched her friend with a funny expression on her face. She had never seen Abigail act this way before. This APC of hers—and the mystery surrounding it—sure got her friend all excited and romantic! 

"I wish I have an APC like yours," she muttered as she gazed lovingly at the roses. 

"Well I wish my damn APC reveal himself! In as much as I enjoy receiving his lovely, mushy letters, I still would want to know who he is for pity's sake!" Ginny complained and took the parchment from her friend's hand, scanning through it once more and trying to figure out who could her secret admirer possibly be. 

Abigail looked up from the roses she was admiring and frowned, "You still think its Harry that's behind all this?" she questioned. 

"I don't know, Abs. I mean, sure I'd suspect Harry to be behind the letters and now the roses, but after yesterday…well," she paused and stared hard on the letter in her hands. 

Abigail was left hanging on to what her friend was about to say. She waited for Ginny to continue whatever it was she was saying, but her friend just stopped there without showing any signs of continuing. She hated it when Ginny does that. 

"Hello? I'm dying here," she waved her hand in front of her friend, wanting to catch Ginny's attention and get her to continue whatever it was she was about to say. 

Ginny frowned up at her friend, "Sorry?" 

Abigail made a face at her friend, "You were saying something about what happened yesterday that made you change your mind about Harry being your APC," she reminded her. 

"Oh. Oh! That…yeah, well…" Ginny shrugged and returned her gaze back on the piece of parchment, "After Blaise saved me I just thought…well, after what he did it got me thinking that…" her voice faltered off as she stared into space, mentally discussing with herself what just happened the day before when Blaise Zambini saved her from her near-death experience. 

Once again Abigail was left hanging in suspense when Ginny didn't bother finishing her sentence. Honestly, sometimes she wondered why she was even friends with Ginny Weasley when the girl hardly ever finishes her sentences! 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

"Hey Ginny," Oliver greeted when he saw the sixth year red haired Gryffindor girl heading towards the Great Hall at lunch time. 

Ginny smiled up at the new History of Magic teacher and waited until he reached her before continuing on to the Great Hall. 

"Hello, Oliver," she said automatically, then realized who she was talking to and quickly amended her greeting, "I mean, hello Professor Wood," she smiled cheekily. 

Oliver chuckled and shook his head, "Please, Ginny, it's just us. Call me Oliver. I already told you being addressed as 'professor' kinda gives me the creeps," he admitted. 

"Still?" she raised an eyebrow at his confession. "Shouldn't you be used to it by now? I mean we're already a month into the new school year, Oliver." 

Oliver looked a bit sheepish and scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah, I know that, Ginny, but I still feel so damn uncomfortable when my former housemates address me as 'Professor Wood'. It's a wonder how Harry could stand calling me professor when back when we were playing Quidditch together we just call each other by our last names or first names—or sometimes even worse names that I shouldn't even say to you." 

"And why not?" Ginny raised an eyebrow questioningly, "Please, Professor, it's not like I haven't heard nor said any bad words before. My brothers might be so damn overprotective of me, but in case you guys have overlooked, I have my own circle of friends too who could be as potty-mouthed as the next person could be." 

Oliver believed her, but he still didn't want to tell her what kind of names he and Harry called each other back when he was still a student at Hogwarts. 

"Those names Potter and I called each other weren't fit to be repeated in front of a lady," he winked. 

Ginny made a face at him and shook her head. "Fine then, you keep your secrets." 

"Oh I think I will," he chuckled cryptically. 

Ginny caught that tone and quickly frowned up at him, an eyebrow raised and watched his face more closely. She was about to ask him what he meant when she suddenly collided with someone as they rounded the corner. 

"Oh!" the force of the collision threw her back and into Oliver's arms that automatically circled around her. 

Her assailant stopped on his tracks and turned a pair of glaring grey eyes at her, oblivious of her companion who happened to be a teacher. 

"Watch where you're going, Weasel!" Draco scolded, standing to his full height in front of her. 

Ginny pushed herself gently away from Oliver's arms and returned Draco's glare back at him, "You should also be looking where you're going, bleached boy! It wasn't my fault that you don't pay attention to where you're going." 

Instead of looking miffed at being talked back by the youngest Weasley, Draco slightly amused. So that little show of temper he witnessed on the train two months ago wasn't just a fluke; the little weasel had indeed grown a pair. 

"I see you're getting lessons in self-defence. Tell me, do they also teach you how to be sharp-tongued and quick-witted?" 

"My wit's quicker than yours, peroxide pest, whether I am taught how to be or not! I may be a year younger and had always been the meek, timid Ginny Weasley, but you don't really know the real me so word of advice? Stay the hell out of my way and next time, watch where you're going! You have two goofs of a goon to watch out where you're going—they should do a better job next time if I were you," she snarled and before he could say another word, she quickly shoved past him and walked with her chin raised in the air. 

"Bitch," she heard Draco mutter after she walked off. 

Ginny ignored it and just kept right on walking. She doesn't know why she hated Draco Malfoy so damn much. Sure he often made fun of her family and her brothers, and he sometimes made fun of her if she was unfortunate enough to be within firing range of his insults. 

He just rubbed her the wrong way that was all. 

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

**A/N:** Alright, this took longer than I expected, and I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I had been busy last week. For some reason it was one of those weeks when it was so damn busy at work I can't believe it was almost quitting time and I haven't finished everything I have to do yet!

**A/N2:** this time our APC's 'love poem' is courtesy of N Sync's _**This I Promise You**_

**PhoenixRae's Thank Yous:** I've decided to do a one-shot shout-out to everyone once again.

_Kitty_ (**and nope, I don't mind being called Rae-san or Phoenix-san, I think Rae is much shorter & easier anyway**)_, mya14, dracos-gurl, GirlAngel, Lia_ (**Blaise is...oh gosh-darnit! I forgot what position he plays *lol* wait, let me try and remember...**)_, Faltering Hues_ (**thanks for liking the Quidditch action**)_, sassw14, Flameprincess, Crystal, August, Noelle, Miss Marauder, MelissaAdams_ (**Harry was neck-to-neck with Draco trying to catch the snitch when he caught sight of Ginny falling off her broom and decided to abandon the game & rescue his best friend's sister before she breaks her neck, hehehehe**)_, Faxton, vanns, Cheater531, MoonlightNIV_ (**hmm...I never read _all_ the Sweet Valley book series--I only read a few stories and never really liked 'em much--so I can't be sure, and if ever the name RANDY MASON was used there, it was purely coincidental**)_, Kodomo Cow, Vld_ (**I know Blaise's character in fic's is kinda blurry...I mean, sometimes I read about Blaise as being a boy and sometimes a girl, in this case, for my fic I'm making Blaise a boy...just coz...hehehe, for fun, I guess**)_, wowsergirl_ (***lol* you're crazy! of course you can have Blaise...but maybe _later_, hehehe**)_, mavis, *karly*, Adria, December's Girl, Duckluvr7, Fallen Angel of Darkness, Loves-Kiss, Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey, Talisa_ (**that's the whole point, dear, to _confuse_ you all, hehehehe, aren't I evil? ::winks::**)_, Slytherin Child_ (**since I have no idea what Blaise looks like, I gotta make him look like someone and the first person that popped into my mind was...well, actually it was a toss between Chad Michael Murray & Tom Welling, but I often preferred brunettes to blondes so Tom Welling won *lol***)_, MiSs-BeHaVe _(**of course you'll find out! I'll be dropping some more hints in the future chapters and it'll be up to _you_ readers/reviewers to decipher who he is exactly**)_, SAKURAnTOKYO, Larien, Eva, Blue thorn a.k.a. B.C.R., Blu Misterie, Xiaoyu Ling, izzy_ (**hmm...no guarantees of my updating everyday...last week was a pretty hectic week for me and I only updated I think _once_ last week so maybe I won't be able to update as often as I can like what I did with _Defense_**)_, Neni Potter, Curly-Q, aznqtpi, Jessica Lyn_


	7. Run In With Malfoy

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** I was miffed at ff.net for a while 'coz it wouldn't let me upload my previous chapter until…well, until it was two days later. Sorry for the delayed update. Last week was just a very busy week for me and this week…well, this week's not so bad so I might be able to update this story more than once this week! Thank you to all of you who reviewed so far & those who are enjoying reading this story. I am still looking for some songs to use so feel free to let me know what songs you have in mind. THANKS!

**PhoenixRae's Notes 2:** once again, I will be using "Zambini" to spell Blaise's last name as oppose to _Zabini_ since…well, since I started writing the fic using that last name and I don't want to confuse anybody by switching around…and I'm used to saying "Zambini" for some odd reason!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

**VII. Run-In With Malfoy **

It was last of the few days left before autumn sets in at Hogwarts, Ginny decided to spend her lunch period out by the lake to study for a possible pop quiz in History of Magic (Oliver had a penchant for giving his students pop quizzes Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to check how much they have learned). A lot of the students don't like that, but Ginny didn't mind it one bit. As far as she was concerned it was a very wise thing for Oliver to do to check how much his students absorbed in his classes.

She was memorizing the dates of a convicted warlock's trials when a tall shadow loomed over her.

"Trying to be Granger the second, Weaselette?"

Ginny didn't bother looking up from her notes she was reading to address her intruder. His tone of voice alone told her who he was.

"Get lost, bleached boy, I'm studying here."

Instead of doing what he was told, Draco hiked up his trousers a bit and squatted in front of Ginny. Snatching her notes from her hands, Draco read it and raised an eyebrow when he read the topic her class was learning.

"You're already learning about this and it's only the end of the October?" he raised a pair of surprised grey eyes and met her brown ones.

Ginny felt an invisible electrical zing zapped through her the moment she locked gazes with one of the school's notorious playboys. It was a weird feeling to have that stingy electrical feeling run down from her head to her toes. It never happened before. And never with _Malfoy_ of all people!

Draco broke their eye contact by frowning and fanning the piece of parchment before her suddenly glazed brown eyes.

"Yoo-hoo! Hello, Weasel, still there?"

Ginny blinked a couple of times until she returned back to the present time and returned Draco's frown.

"What?" she asked irately.

Draco couldn't help but be amazed. She was really an enigma as far as he was concerned. He thought he got her all figured out during the years he went to school with her, then this new school year started and he glimpsed a whole new Ginny Weasley all together.

"You still haven't answered my question, Weasel. This," he fanned the parchment before her once again, "is way too early in the year to be discussed. I remember Binns teaching us this _after_ Easter last year," he pointed out.

"So? Oliver's teaching History of Magic now. He's obviously doing things differently from Binns," she pointed out.

"I see," Draco nodded and handed her back the piece of parchment she was studying from. Straightening up, he smirked and looked down at the redhead immersed in her study, "If Binns was still the History of Magic teacher this year, I would've been able to help you out with the answers to his test questions, but since it's Wood who took over, hell if I know what his test questions would be like!"

Ginny scrunched up her face, "Thanks for the offer, Malfoy, but I doubt I'll need a slimy git like you to help me when I got Hermione around to help me with my classes," she replied haughtily.

Draco seemed unaffected by the insult. He remained standing before her with his trademark smirk planted on his boyish face. He was about to say something back to her when he heard his name being called.

Draco and Ginny looked at the direction of the caller and saw Blaise headed towards them. He jogged up to where Ginny and Draco was, breathing a bit harder upon reaching the two. He gave Draco a curt nod before turning to Ginny, a huge smile plastered on his face and giving her a full blast of his most talked about charm that got half of school's female population's knickers in a knot (the other half got their knickers in a knot because of Draco—at least that was what she figured the odds were anyway).

"Hullo, Ginny," Blaise greeted without a hint of sarcasm or distaste in his tone. And he called her _Ginny_ instead of her last name!

Ginny had to pinch herself to assure herself she wasn't dreaming. Since when did a Slytherin become nice to a Gryffindor? Ginny thought she would faint!

"Uh…h-hullo, Blaise," she couldn't help herself from being bowled over by his friendliness. "I-I forgot to say thanks to you for saving my life," she said the first thing that came to her mind.

Blaise smiled and a dimple appeared on his left cheek. He seemed to look a bit embarrassed and Ginny couldn't help herself from giggling. God, she totally had a different picture of Blaise Zambini in her head all these years!

She had him pegged for an arrogant, self-absorbed egomaniac, but since their first game she started to see him in a different light.

"That's no problem, Ginny. I'm pretty sure Malfoy here would've done the same if he was nearby," he chuckled and gave Draco's shoulder a friendly punch.

"Yeah, right," Draco smirked, "The day I save a Weasley will be the day I have gone completely insane."

Ginny looked up at Draco with her eyes open wide. She looked like she was shocked.

"Malfoy, you _finally_ admitted that you're insane! How wonderful to know," her voice was dripping with as much sarcasm as she could muster.

"Why Weaslette, I didn't know you pay attention. It's good to know that not all weasels are dumb," he replied mimicking her tone of voice.

"You're dumber than the dumbest person that I know, Malfoy," she accused.

"You mean I'm dumber than Longbottom? I don't think anybody could beat him in the dumb department."

Ginny angrily jumped to her feet and faced-off against Draco, "Neville is _not_ dumb! For all you know he could be smarter than you _or_ Hermione!" she defended her housemate.

"Oooh, Weasel's defending her boyfriend. Come to think of it, you would make a fine Mrs. Longbottom, Weaselette."

"And you—"

"You two look ridiculous!" scolded Abigail as soon as she neared the bickering couple. "I could hear your raised voices from fifty yards away!"

"He started it!"

"She started it!"

Draco and Ginny exclaimed at the same time, pointing an accusing finger at each other.

Abigail rolled her eyes skyward and shook her head, "Whathever Beatrice and Benedick. Anyway Gin, lunch is almost over and we have a class to attend to. You know how McGonagall hates it when students walk-in late."

"Lunch is almost over?" Ginny looked panicked, "I haven't grabbed a bite to eat yet!"

"Don't worry, Ginny, I grabbed you a sandwich when I noticed you weren't in the Great Hall," Blaise produced what looked like a yummy chicken salad sandwich on brown bread and handed it to her.

Ginny turned a pair of grateful brown eyes at him and accepted the sandwich.

"Thanks Blaise!" she slid the sandwich in her backpack as she hurriedly stuffed her notes in it as well.

"No problem," he watched the petite red head hastily stuff her notes in her bag then zip it up.

"I'm ready!" Ginny announced to her friend, she looked over her shoulder at Blaise and smiled, "Thanks for the sandwich, Blaise. You're a life saver—again."

"Anytime, Ginny," Blaise nodded.

"What? No goodbye kiss to your boyfriend?" Draco asked teasingly as he watched with a very sickening feeling the mushy (if anyone could dare call what Weasley and Zambini were doing _mushy!_) interaction between the two.

Ginny shot him a piercing glare, "Shut your yap, Malfoy, if you know what's good for you," and with that she stomped away with Abigail by her side.

"Oooh, I'm scared, Weasley!" Draco called after her.

Ginny cast a piercing glare over her shoulder at Draco and gave him the middle finger salute. Draco looked shocked she was even capable of being so crass before he ended up laughing at her action.

"Argh! I hate him soooo much!" Ginny complained to her friend.

Abigail raised an eyebrow and cast a quick glance over her shoulder at the two Slytherin boys they left behind then turned back to look at her friend, "Which one? Zambini or Malfoy?"

"Malfoy, who else would I be so pissed off at? Zambini's…well, Zambini's been acting strange lately and…he's been eerily nice to me all of a sudden which was so totally out of character, but then again him saving my behind during our first Quidditch match _was_ way out of character for any Slytherin."

"Why do you even let Malfoy get to you, Gin?" Abigail asked, "Just ignore the bastard. I'm sure if you ignored him one too many times he'll get the hint and stop pestering you."

"I try not to let him get to me, but Malfoy seem to find a way of getting to me which is getting to be a tad bit _too_ annoying!" Ginny complained.

"Kinda like your _Annoying_ Prince Charming, eh?" Abigail grinned teasingly.

"_Argh!_ Please, Abby, don't even get me started with _that_ one!"

Abigail laughed and shook her head, "Kinda makes you wonder too, though. I mean, _you_ find Malfoy annoying _and_ you find your APC _annoying_ as well…" she paused and gave her friend a long, sideways glance, seeing if Ginny caught her drift. Apparently her friend did.

"No fucking way!" Ginny exclaimed and stopped in the middle of her tracks and turned to glare at her friend, "Don't even insinuate that Malfoy and my APC are one and the same because…because…_elch!_ It's a tad bit too disgusting for my taste!"

Abigail couldn't help herself from laughing at her friend's reaction. She raised her hands up and stepped back, "Hey, it was just a suggestion, Ginny! After all, you're not really serious about your APC being Blaise, are you?"

"No, I'm not certain it's Zambini yet, but for the love of Merlin, it better not be _Malfoy_ who's behind all those letters!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Thank God we're almost done! One more class and we're done for the day," Ginny paused outside her Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to stretch the kink off her shoulders and rearrange the strap of her bag.

"I know. It's a good thing I like our History of Magic teacher this year. I won't be bored stiff in our last class," Abigail arranged the strap of her bag over her shoulder as well and waited for Ginny to finish stretching.

"Exactly," Ginny resumed walking and headed towards her History of Magic class, "In as much as Binns was informative and knowledgeable of every fact available, still, it was always good to have someone new and fresh to take over his class."

"A-men to that," Abigail nodded.

The two friends rounded the corner towards the stairs going to their next class when they were stopped by a mob of students gathered around. Frowning at each other, they shouldered their way through the crowd until they were at the front of the gathered students watching (who else?) her brother face it off with Malfoy and his goons. As usual they were spewing insults at one another, waving their fists before them (actually, it was just Ron who was doing a lot of that) and threatening to rearrange the other's face. Ginny glanced behind her brother and saw Hermione pushed behind Ron.

She knew then _what_ started off this verbal insult between Ron and Malfoy.

Hermione.

Ginny rolled her eyes skyward and decided not to linger around much longer to listen to what else Ron and Malfoy would dredge up to annoy each other. Students will be running late if nobody breaks this fight and Ginny felt compelled to do the damn honour of breaking the fight off between her brother and his number one school enemy.

Taking a deep breath, she walked straight towards her brother and the blond Slytherin seventh year, clearly stepping between them which automatically stopped them both from biting each other's heads off with verbal insults.

"_When_ will you two ever grow up?" she scolded, slicing a piercing glare at her brother then to Malfoy. "Stop shouting insults at each other. If you want to hose the school down with male testosterone, do so! Don't threaten each other with fists waving in the air! If you want to show each other who's a man then _be_ a damn man for all I care! Punch the light out of the other and maybe—_maybe_ that'll do it for the both of you!"

Everyone was surprised at the outburst they heard from the youngest Weasley. Ginny was known to be meek and timid, but today she showed—not just her brother and his friends—the rest of the student body just exactly _what_ she was capable of when provoked.

After a few seconds of deafening silence following Ginny's outburst, Draco decided to break it by snorting and glaring at Ron.

"You're lucky you have someone save your ass this time, Weasel. I admit, your sister's more spunkier than you."

Ginny glared up at Draco then, waiting for him to insult _her_ this time, but when their eyes collided for the second time today she still felt that zing of electricity zapped her from head to toe. Instead of hearing some verbal insult hurtled her way from Draco, Ginny was rendered speechless when he merely grinned at her and winked before ordering his goons to follow him.

The students crowded around them soon parted as Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle made their way towards their next class. Ginny remained rooted where she was, staring at Draco's departing back and trying to make sense of what she felt inside every time their eyes locked.

"And just _what_ exactly were you thinking about fighting my battles for me, huh, Virginia?" Ron demanded irately.

Ginny quickly spun around and glared up at her brother, "You better be lucky I stepped in when I can, Ronald. I bet Malfoy's capable of beating you to a pulp if ever he was given the chance to do so! And I mean what I said, brother dearest, _grow up!_" she shoved her brother aside and walked away.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

He couldn't help himself from grinning as he watched Ginny make a stand and scold two _almost_ grown young men. She had some nerve to do what she just did. Everyday he couldn't help himself from being surprised at what the youngest Weasley was capable of doing. He knew she was a bagful of surprises from the moment he first laid eyes on her that day so long ago now.

"Let's go, man. We'll be late for class," one of his friends called, dragging him away from where he stood hidden behind some pillars as he kept a close eye on the sultry redhead sixth year.

"You two go on ahead, I'll follow you," he told them without moving from where he stood.

"Someone's bound to notice if you keep on watching her. I say let's move and ogle at her later," his other friend pointed out.

With a disgruntled sigh he relented to what his friends asked and moved away from his hiding place. He gave Ginny's departing back one last glance then he was off to his last class of the day.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

**A/N:** sorry, no "love letter" in this chapter, hehehe, but did you all enjoy the encounters Ginny had with Draco? A few of you are asking _when_ Ginny & Draco will have some interaction and…well, yeah, I think it's high time they interact, hehehe…oh yeah, I'm trying to narrow down _who_ her APC is, but he seems to be enjoying hiding his true identity so…well, we'll see _when_ he decides to show himself.

**PhoenixRae's THANK YOU's:**

_Amadrieclya_ (**thanks for the song suggestion! I'll see where & when I can fit it here, I happen to like that song for the Corrs too**)_, margarinequeen, Quis, SAngel_ (**whoa! how was Italy, girl?! hehehe, and I thought it'll be easier for you readers to find it if I just let you know I got a new story up**)_, Faxton, Imp_ (**hehehe, hey, I thought nobody would notice it! :::grins::: I'm an LOTR fan as well and...well, since I got the extended DVD version I kept on watching it over and over and figured it won't hurt if I borrow some lines from there--it kinda worked well with the previous chapter**)_, Krissy, vanns, Blue thorn a.k.a. B.C.R., avapouhi, wowsergirl, Talisa/Dragon Girl, Curly-Q, Butterflysky _(**nope, I didn't get it wrong. It's playdium, it's not a bar or club, it's an arcade place with loadsa good stuff! *lol***)_, SAKUNAnTOKYO, Kitty, Crystal, purus.flere, Miss Marauder_ (**woo-hoo, yay for us Canucks! *lol***)_, Lia_ (**well from now on I'll be posting it under html not doc so in case ff.net screws up, you can still read it, hehehe**)_, Sabriel of the Ravnos, Slytherin Child_ (**yeah, that was one of the N Sync songs that didn't want to make me throw up! *lol* and...well, I read the lyrics and it's nice, sweet, romantic material *lol***)_, demon_owl, just a d/g fan, OpalKoboi_ (**APC stands for _Annoying Prince Charming_--it's the name Ginny & Abby came up with coz Gin's tired of calling her admirer "secret admirer"**)_, MiSs-BeHaVe, oOB-i-r-d-yOo, selene-chan_ (**I was confused with his last name and since Zambini sounded alright, I used it _and_ I'll be sticking to that spelling probably til the end of this chap--I'll do the re-editing once this whole story's done**)_, liltrick89, lilikins, fishy, Virginia Malfoy, Tweek's Panda_ (**our APC's identity will be revealed soon enough**)_, Ruby, Eva, Fire Spirit_


	8. Flirtatious Disaster

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** sorry it took me a few days to update. Actually I was having some sort of dry spell after I uploaded the previous chapter, but thankfully it was just a short one! Anyways, read & enjoy this chappie!

**PhoenixRae's Notes 2:** once again, I will be using "Zambini" to spell Blaise's last name as oppose to _Zabini_ since…well, since I started writing the fic using that last name and I don't want to confuse anybody by switching around…and I'm used to saying "Zambini" for some odd reason!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

**VIII. Flirtatious Disaster **

Ginny slid behind her desk in History of Magic and let out an exasperated sigh. Abigail wasn't far behind her and she sidled beside her best friend. They just barely made it to their last class after doing a stopover to break a fight between Ron and Malfoy. It would've been the umpteenth time her brother and Malfoy stopped traffic in between classes since the beginning of the school year, and it was getting on her nerves. She was often delayed from getting to her next class because of those two.

"Are you okay now?" Abigail asked when she noticed her friend angrily taking her things out of her backpack.

"What do you think?" Ginny snapped and slammed her book hard on her desk half of the students in the classroom turned to look at her questioningly.

Abigail gave them all an apologetic look then turned back to Ginny, "Hey, you still can't be bitching about your brother being an ass, can you now? I mean we all know how Ron and Malfoy are like whenever their paths happen to cross," she pointed out.

"I know that, Abs, it's just that…it starts to get annoying now that they seem to want to pick on each other _all_ the time."

"True," Abigail nodded, "And boy you sure shocked the bejeepers outta those two goofs—as well as the rest of the student population watching—by telling them both to grow up!" she chuckled and shook her head, "Can't believe you have it in you, girl, to act like that."

Ginny smirked. She couldn't believe she had it in her as well to be able to act like that in front of her brother. But she was provoked, dammit! And damn Draco Malfoy for making her feel tingly inside every time their eyes locked!

_That_ was what's gotten her in a rotten mood. She wouldn't be this pissed off if it hadn't been for her reaction to Malfoy. It happened during lunch when their gazes first locked, then again a few minutes ago when she broke the fight between him and her brother.

She was about to take her quill and inkbottle out of her bag when she noticed something hanging from the corner of her book. It was a folded piece of parchment with the sides burned.

_Holy shit!_ she let out an audible gasp when she realized _what_ was that piece of parchment. She knew very well that she didn't leave any of her APC's love letters stuck between the pages of _any_ of her books so this couldn't be one of those she already received. _How the hell did it get here?_ she thought as she snatched the piece of parchment hanging off the side of her book.

_Damn blasted APC!_ she thought irately and unfolded the parchment, her eyes growing wider and wider by the minute as she read what was written on the parchment. Her hitched gasp caught Abigail's attention and soon her friend was peering over Ginny's shoulder and reading what she was reading.

"Oh my…" she gasped when she realized what had got her friend so enthralled about.

Turn it inside out so I can see  
The part of you that's drifting over me  
And when I wake you're never there  
But when I sleep you're everywhere  
You're everywhere 

Just tell me how I got this far  
Just tell me why you're here and who you are  
'Cause every time I look you're never there  
And every time I sleep you're always there 

_'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I close my eyes it's you I see  
You're everything I know that makes me believe  
I'm not alone  
I'm not alone _

_I recognize the way you make me feel  
It's hard to think that you might not be real  
I sense it now, the water's getting deep  
I try to wash the pain away from me  
Away from me _

_'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I close my eyes it's you I see  
You're everything I know that makes me believe  
I'm not alone  
I'm not alone _

_And when I touch your hand  
It's then I understand  
The beauty that's within  
It's now that we begin  
You always light my way  
I hope there never comes a day  
No matter where I go  
I always feel you so _

_'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I close my eyes it's you I see  
I'm not alone  
'Cause you're everywhere to me  
And when I catch my breath it's you I breathe  
You're everything I know that makes me believe  
I'm not alone _

_You're in everyone I see  
So tell me  
Do you see me? _

Abigail practically keeled over trying not to giggle too much after reading Ginny's APC's recent love letter to her. Good thing Oliver wasn't in the room yet and they had a few minutes to spare before class started. Abigail couldn't help but think just exactly how romantic this faceless admirer of her friend was.

"Hello, Ginny, I say this bloke's head over heels in love with you already and you don't even know him yet!" she chided after her friend stuffed the parchment back between the pages of her book.

"I don't know, Abs. It's sweet that he sends me these letters, but he's starting to creep me out," she lifted her brown eyes from the book on her table and looked at her friend, "An owl _didn't_ drop this to me today, Abby. I found it tucked between the pages of this," she tapped her closed book, "book. I don't know _how_ it got there, but it was there. I was surprised when I found out hanging from the side of the book, but I don't know _how_ it got there in the first place!"

"_Whoa!_ That's a tad bit too freaky for my taste, Gin," Abigail admitted.

"Tell me about it," Ginny rolled her eyes and stared at her closed book where her most recent love letter lay hidden from everyone's view.

Oliver wasn't in the best of moods that afternoon when he walked in to class. Gone was his usual friendly smile he often gave his students as soon as he entered his classroom, and he was walking rather briskly. Ginny couldn't help but notice how close his eyebrows were to being knitted together because he was frowning so deeply.

The entire class knew exactly how much foul a mood Oliver Wood was in when, as soon as he was standing in front of the room, told everyone to put everything away, take out their inkbottle and quill because he was giving them their quiz this early on.

"What's with him?" Abigail asked irately as she put away her stuff.

"I don't know," Ginny shook her head, doing the same her friend was doing and put away her stuff, "But it's weird he doesn't even give us time to review before the quiz," she added.

"I know!" Abigail agreed, "I know he often gives us pop quizzes Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but he usually lets us review first before telling everyone to clear their desks!" she hissed.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Abs. I don't know who's got Wood's knickers in a knot, but I sure don't like _this_ professor we have here right now," Ginny complained.

"_Weasley!_" Oliver yelled from the front of her class that made Ginny jump in her seat and turned to look at the annoyed professor.

"Yes?"

"I said no talking, didn't I? That'll be five points from Gryffindor and see me after class for your detention," he told her sternly.

"_Detention?_" she sputtered, her eyes nearly bulging out of her sockets as she stared at the young professor before her. He had got to be kidding her! And he quickly took points off her house because she was talking? Hell, that was harsh!

"Yes. _Detention,_" he elaborated more on the word before adding, "Now I suggest you pick up your quill and be ready for this pop quiz."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Ginny was silently cursing under her breath as she made her way back to her History of Magic classroom shortly after dinner for her detention. It was just her luck to be serving detention tonight of all nights! She had stuff planned to do tonight—a complete manicure _and_ pedicure session with Abigail since…well, since they both needed one. That plan of theirs had been burning in the back burner for weeks now and finally when they had a Friday night free off assignments and projects, _she_ had to go to detention.

She complained to Abigail—and to Hermione as well—about Oliver singling her out in class this afternoon. Him taking points off Gryffindor she could understand, but giving her detention as well? That was a bit too much!

Ginny entered her History of Magic classroom still fuming mad at having to serve detention when a movement and a flash of white caught her attention. She thought it was just one of the Hogwarts ghost loitering about in the classroom. She didn't give it much thought until she heard the familiar sneer from the side of the room where she thought she saw the ghost loitering about.

"What's this, a weasel caught making a ruckus in class?"

Ginny shot him a fiery glare the moment he let the comment out.

"What are you doing here, bleached boy? Shouldn't you be out necking with your current girl somewhere?" she fired back at him.

Draco straightened from his slouching position and got up from his seat. He was scowling at her as he crossed the distance between them. Ginny knew her five foot five height was no match to his six foot two one; she had to pull her head all the way to the back just to meet his eyes.

"I should ask the same about you, carrot top. I would expect your brother to get himself in detention, but you?" he paused an gave her a slow appraisal, his grey eyes travelling appreciatively down her body then back up to meet her gaze once more. "Quiet, timid Ginny Weasley lugging herself in detention?" he sounded surprised, "What the hell did you do, Weaselette?"

Ginny shivered at his slow appraisal of her. Those cool grey eyes left goosebumps on her skin, and she hated the sensation she felt inside. This was Draco-Friggin'-Malfoy, the blasted git doesn't excite her…or does he?

_No!_ her mind screamed in protest, _Don't even entertain such thought, Ginny Weasley._

"Get lost, Malfoy," she shoved him away and walked to the front of the class to wait for Oliver.

"Sorry, Weasel, but I can't do just that," he smirked.

Ginny glared at him over her shoulder, "And why the hell not?" she demanded.

Draco walked up to where she parked herself, bracing his hands on the back of her chair and the table, trapping Ginny. His eyes had the oddest glint to it that sure made Ginny feel so damn uncomfortable. His slow, devilish, knee-buckling grin caused the butterflies in her stomach to do some major somersaults.

"Because, carrot top, I'm here for detention too," he told her casually.

Ginny raised an eyebrow and glared at Draco. His newfound pet name for her was starting to get on her nerves. 'Weasel' and 'Weaselette' she could tolerate, but _Carrot Top?_ He was asking for a good socking!

"Oliver gave you detention too, huh? What did you do in his class to land yourself in detention?"

Draco cocked an eyebrow when Ginny addressed their History of Magic teacher by his first name.

"Hmm…I wonder if you're here because of detention _or_ you're here because you and Wood agreed to meet for a quick snog," he pursed his lips, his eyebrow knitted at the center as he watched her closely.

_SMACK!_

Ginny's palm hitting the soft flesh of Draco's cheek echoed around the empty and very quiet classroom. Ginny's angry brown eyes were glaring a hole right through Draco's blond head.

"How dare you insinuate that there's something going on between Oliver and me?" she hissed through gritted teeth.

Draco, obviously taken aback by Ginny's action, pushed himself away from her, his grey eyes matching the fire spewing out of her dark brown orbs.

Ginny suddenly felt fear as she continued to hold Draco Malfoy's angry gaze. _Ooooh, you've done it now, Weasley. Damn blasted Weasley temper! He's gonna strike you. He's gonna strike you!_ her mind chanted nervously, watching Draco very carefully now and waiting for him to hit her back any second now.

Ginny braced herself for Draco's possible retaliation, but she was saved from being slapped senseless (she wasn't sure _exactly_ how Malfoy would hit her back, but she could only assume he'd be giving her a husband and wife slap in return for slapping him!) when Oliver's stern voice cracked through the deafening silence that was settling between them.

"Malfoy, continue wooing Ms. Weasley _after_ detention," he walked up briskly to where his two students were and pulled Draco away from Ginny, "And good job, Ginny. Malfoy's usually after girls who are easy to get—you're one tough cookie for slapping some sense into him, makes him realize he's only human."

Ginny couldn't believe Oliver just sided with her. Who was this man standing before her now? He wasn't the same man who gave her a damn detention this afternoon! Nevertheless, Ginny was glad Oliver was at her side right now. She honestly thought she'd be in _much_ bigger trouble after slapping Malfoy (she wasn't out of the woods yet if Draco's deadly glares were anything to go by while Oliver was telling them what kind of chores they were required to do while serving detention with him).

Ginny spent the next two and a half hours with Oliver and Malfoy inside the History of Magic class alternately checking assignments and filing some of Oliver's files for each of his classes. It was a good two and a half hours as far as Ginny was concerned, but if she had to do any filing in the near future, she would have to pass—Oliver just had too damn much stuff to file and it wasn't funny! _She_ got stuck doing the filing and Malfoy did the checking. Why couldn't it have been the other way around?

"I hate filing, Weasley. I mess it up, and once I do, Wood would let _you_ do it, so why not do it now and save us all the trouble, huh?" he cocked that annoying eyebrow at her as he waited for her to reply.

Of course she said she'd do the filing instead. Malfoy's reasoning made some sense to her as far as she was concerned. _God, you need to get your head examined, Weasley! You're starting to agree with Malfoy's reasoning?_

She straightened up after putting away the last of the files she had to sort and put away. Malfoy was done checking and had been released by Oliver nearly fifteen minutes ago.

"All finished!" she announced rather a bit enthusiastically.

Oliver looked up from the essay he was reading, his brown eyes somewhat unfocussed. Ginny had this oddest sensation prickling at the back of her head at the way Oliver was looking at her now. She gave him a nervous smile and gingerly walked up to his desk, "That's all I have to file tonight, right Professor?" she asked when Oliver remained silent.

Ginny frowned. He _was_ acting strange since this afternoon. She started waving her hands back and forth, but Oliver didn't do so much as blink.

_Ah, screw it. It's already late and I'm tired._

"_Oliver!_" she practically yelled his name, but really her voice just rose a couple of notches higher than her normal tone.

Oliver snapped out of his trance and blinked a couple of times, his chocolate brown eyes focussing on Ginny's frowning face.

"S-sorry," he apologized then quickly gathered his brain, "You're all done?" he inquired, inspecting the file cabinets she was busy cleaning up just moments ago.

"Yes. I'm all done filing your stuff. Honestly, _Professor_, you need to have some sort of filing system!" she scolded him.

Oliver looked sheepishly at her. And…was that a hint of blush she saw creeping up his neck? Ginny couldn't believe it, but Oliver Wood _was_ embarrassed!

_Hell, this boy is getting stranger and stranger by the minute._

"So," she clapped her hands and rocked back and forth on her heels, "If that's everything for tonight, Professor, I think I should be going then, huh?"

"Uh…yes," he nodded then more firmly he added, "Yes, you may go."

"Thanks," Ginny smiled and made her way towards the door. She was almost to it when she heard Oliver called her again. She stopped and looked over her shoulder, "Yeah?"

Oliver looked a little bit uneasy, then after making up his mind he cleared his throat and met her brown ones.

"I'm sorry for acting like such an arse this afternoon. I was just in a rotten mood and…I didn't mean to take it out on you," he apologized.

_Now _that's_ more like the Oliver Wood I know,_ she thought gaily and gave him one of her sweet, warm smile she reserved for special people (namely her family and very close friends—Oliver fell somewhere in between those two description).

"That's alright, Ollie, just make sure you don't do it often."

Oliver let out a sigh of relief and returned her smile. "Good. So we're friends?"

Ginny frowned, "We were never enemies, silly."

Oliver chuckled, "Alright. Well, have a good night, Ginny."

"You too, Ollie. See you tomorrow."

Ginny had the brightest smile plastered on her face as she exited her History of Magic classroom. So all was well between her and Oliver. He was in a rotten mood he said it so himself. Now him being in a rotten made her wonder _why_ he was in that kind of mood in the first place!

She rounded the corner towards the stairs that would take her to Gryffindor tower (a shortcut she only recently discovered and was thankful for) when someone hidden in the shadows grabbed her; a big, strong hand covered her mouth to stop her from screaming and a strong, muscular arm wrapped around her tiny waist as she was hauled into the shadow with this stranger who came out of nowhere. She struggled, of course, kicking and pounding on her captor's arm with her balled up fists, but it was a futile attempt to say the least. Her captor did not release her until they were hidden deep shadow of an unfamiliar corridor.

As soon as her mouth was freed, Ginny was ready to give whomever this git was an earful, but then she wasn't able to breath a word before her mouth was covered in a kiss that was more forced than welcomed. Ginny tried to scream, but her captor wouldn't let her; his mouth on her mouth came down hard. Ginny felt like her teeth would be knocked down her throat at the force of his kiss.

Her hands found their way up and pressed against a wall of hard, male chest. She flattened her hands against it and tried to push him away. She tried to pry her mouth from his, but he proved to be more powerful than her—and very much intent on kissing her—to actually let her go.

She whimpered against him, pounding her fists against his chest. Who the hell was this man who practically kidnapped her on her way to her dormitory? She struggled to be free off him, but she was soon realizing it wouldn't do her much to struggle, so she tried to relax, and the moment she did her captor's mouth softened against hers.

Ginny's eyes widened when she noticed the change in him. She could hardly see his face (he was good at keeping to the shadows as to avoid being discovered), but there were other things (his scent, his built) that should be able to help her. And this musky male scent she was inhaling emanating from her faceless captor sure smelled familiar.

_Now where have I smelled that before?_

"_Ginny…_" he captor spoke huskily against his mouth, making Ginny freeze in his arms.

She managed to pry her lips from his and pulled her head back, squinting her eyes trying to decipher his face, but it was so damn dark where they were that she couldn't even make-out the shape of his face!

"Wh-_who_ are you?" she asked, her ears pricked up. Maybe his voice would hint her as to _who_ he was.

There was a long, pregnant silence, which made it damn near impossible for Ginny to breathe. Would he answer her? _God, I hope so! Nobody goes around grabbing me in the middle of the night and snog the living daylights out of me! Not that he was a good snog because…well, dammit! Who are you?_

She wanted to scream out her query when he spoke again.

"You know me, Ginny," he still spoke using the same, husky whisper which made it damn near impossible for her to pinpoint him out of the many male students of Hogwarts.

"Uh…I don't think so," she shook her head 'no', "You see, _if_ I know you then I wouldn't be asking you who you are, right?"

He chuckled at her reply. It was a low, rumbling sound that came from the pits of his stomach. He raised his hand and traced his index finger against the side of her face. Although Ginny couldn't see him clearly, she knew his eyes were on her face, following the trail his finger was making.

_Dammit, who the hell are you?_

"I'm sorry I had to do what I just did, Ginny, but I couldn't help myself anymore. Every time I see you all I wanted to do was kiss you. Hold you in my arms and feel alright, but I couldn't do that in broad daylight nor would I be able to do that in the company of others," he confessed, his voice a low crescendo that was soon soothing Ginny's nerves.

"W-why couldn't you?" she asked nervously.

"Because," she felt him shrug, heard the rustling of his robes when he did so.

"Because?" she prodded.

"You're so beautiful, Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House," he sighed, his index finger now tracing her lips.

_Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House…_

"Holy shit!" she gasped, "You're—"

"_Shh…_" he pressed his finger against her lips to silence her, "Do you see me, Ginny Weasley?" he asked, his breath fanning her lips and before she could reply, she felt those same lips that were kissing her rather roughly just moments before cover her mouth once more, but this time he was more gentle.

Ginny moaned and leaned in to his kiss, her mouth softening against his expert lips. His tongue darted out to trace the line between her lips, coaxing them to part and give him access to the depth of her moist crevice.

This was crazy. She had definitely lost her sanity. She was snogging in the dark on some unknown hallway with her damn APC! And Merlin, she was enjoying it! Her first impression of his kiss was soon rectified by this second one.

Her hands that were pressed against his chest that was meant to push him away curled over his robes, pulling him closer as she moved into the circle of his arms that went around her small waist. She opened her mouth for him and got lost in the sensation his expert tongue were doing to her whilst his hands wandered lower to cup her bottom…

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**A/N:** let's leave our frisky couple here for now, shall we? Hehehehe, can you guess WHO Ginny's snogging with now? Sorry, not much hint to go by in this chap, but…well, hope you enjoyed it.

**A/N 2:** our sweet, romantic APC borrowed Michelle Branch's _**Everywhere**_ song for this fic.

**PhoenixRae's THANK YOUs:**

_Krissy, chi-chan // ako kanmu, crazyfriendsfan, Junebug_ (**now _why_ do you want it to be Blaise for some reason???**)_, MiSs-BeHaVe_ (**sorry to confuse you so, but it's all part of the wicked master plan :::grins:::**)_, vanns, Lia_ (**ho-ly, girl! that was a very long review! :::laughs::: ahh, now who wouldn't want to kiss him after his verbal fight with Ron? :::giggles:::**)_, Noelle, izzy_ (**no, you're not dumb. when I conceived the plot for this story I initially intended for the readers to keep on guessing _who_ our APC is...so just keep on guessing!**)_, Yochy, imanewuser_ (**I'll do my very best to give out a BIG HINT as to who our APC might be, but no guarantees since I just type whatever comes to mind...**)_, dragon-girl, Miss Marauder, Icecoolers the Ecck_ (**so you like Abby? or you're an Abby? hehehehe, thanks!**)_, Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey, Blue thorn a.k.a. B.C.R., txt-eva, Slytherin Child_ (**hehehe, sorry to disrupt your well-laid-thought-out idea of who our APC is...you may be right and you may be not; I will neither agree nor disagree with your theories there :::evil cackle:::**)_, string bean love, Curly-Q, MelissaAdams, Lady Phoenix Feather, SAKURAnTOKYO, Vld_ (**if I reveal our APC _now_ during this early on in the story, I doubt you'll guys have any interest in the future chapters, so please be patient and get your brain cells workin' by trying to tick off the 'not possible' APC candidates, hehehehe**)_, annie li, talieta, animezebra, Isis_ (**I won't tell...I won't tell...I won't tell...for now, hehehehe :::evil grin:::**)_, kitty_ (**thanks for clearing that up, and 'kitty' is a cute name, although I doubt it would fit me if I use it, hehehe**)_, OpalKoboi, Imp, fishy, Crystal, monopolyQueen_ (**I'm glad you were able to laugh at the way the characters interact...I intend for some scenes to be funny and hey, if you were able to laugh then I must've done a good job**)_, myobgirly_ (**aawww...school's busy? got finals or what?**)_, Shinomori Kibou, AlliKat_ (**hehehe, yeah, it's understandable how sometimes it's kinda bit too lazy to login when reviewing**)_, spunkygabi_ (**of course I'm alluding to somebody...hehehe :::evil grin:::**)


	9. That Familiar Scent

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Note:** all I can say for now is…hmm….for Blaise's last name I'll continue using "Zambini" and just correct it when I'm done revising this. *smiles* 

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**IX. That Familiar Scent**

Abigail, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Colin, and everybody else at the Gryffindor table couldn't help but notice how much Ginny was glowing during breakfast. Every two seconds she would burst into giggles then blush profusely when asked what she was giggling about. She wouldn't say much to her friends or brother about why she was giggling, and it was annoying them to the brink of them wanting to strangle Ginny for being so coy!

Suspicions that Ginny had a boyfriend secretly stashed away somewhere spread like wildfire amongst her housemates, and Ron wasn't too happy about it. When he could no longer stand his friends and other housemates gossiping about his sister and her supposed boyfriend, he decided that enough was enough and confronted Ginny.

"Look, I know you hate it when I breathe down your back, but this is getting to be a tad bit too damn ridiculous, _Virginia_," Ron scolded when he cornered his sister en route back to the Gryffindor dormitory shortly after lunch Sunday afternoon.

Ginny frowned at her brother, "What the heck are you talking about, _Ronald?_"

Ron made a face at his sister that pretty much said he wasn't in any mood to play any games with her. He was trying to keep the rumours and speculations down and asked everyone in Gryffindor _not_ to breathe a word about their assumption on why Ginny was smiling like an idiot the entire weekend. He didn't want the rest of Hogwarts to be talking about Ginny behind her back.

"I'm talking about _you_ acting all lovesick-puppy-like!" he nearly yelled at her, but he hung on to his temper. He doesn't want to lose it right now out here in the open. "What's really going on, Gin? You've been acting strange since you came back from detention Friday night," he paused and studied his sister more carefully, "You're not hiding a boyfriend somewhere, are you?"

"What? Ron, _please!_ If I have a boyfriend stashed away somewhere, I'd be flaunting him, not keep him stashed away under my four-poster bed or in my trunk!" she rolled her eyes at her brother and crossed her arms over her chest. "Anyway, can't I just be happy for once _without_ any particular reason at all?" she questioned him rather irately.

"Not when you're driving me insane," he grumbled.

"Oh Ronald," Ginny patted his shoulder lightly, "Lighten up, big brother. I'm a big girl now and if ever I have a boyfriend giving me a little somethin'-somethin' on the side, it's none of your bloody business really," she winked and walked around her dumbstruck brother.

It actually took Ron a couple of seconds before what Ginny said sank in. With his eyes bugging out of their sockets, he whirled around and screamed to the top of his lungs:

"_Who the fuck's giving you a little somethin'-somethin'?_"

Everyone who was present in the hall turned and stared at the red-faced male redhead that had smoke coming out of his ears and nose. Hermione read Ron the riot act after he let the expletive slip his lips while Harry stood beside his friends, dumbstruck at what he just heard Ginny tell her brother.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Ginny made sure to stay well away from her brother for the rest of the day. Her little stunt in the hall after lunch only made those gossip-hungry students have a field day guessing _who_ Ginny Weasley's boyfriend was.

Ginny was amazed at how bored her fellow schoolmates were to find some bit of fun discussing her and her mystery guy. She overheard a group of jealous Slytherin seventh years speculating that her man was none other than Blaise Zambini! Ginny had no idea _why_ they thought it was Blaise, but her query was soon answered when Abigail filled her in on the latest school gossip.

"Zambini saved you during the first match of the season, Gin. Apparently quite a lot of Zambini's _adoring fans_ saw that tender moment you two had after he caught you."

"People already assumed because of _that?_" Ginny was shocked. How narrow-minded some people could be sometimes.

"You and Weaselette had a _tender moment_ that day, Zambini?" exclaimed Draco in mock surprise from behind the two sixth year Gryffindors.

Ginny and Abigail looked over their shoulders and glared at the blond Slytherin.

"Don't you have anything better to do, bleached boy, than to eavesdrop on others' conversation?" Ginny snapped.

Draco looked at Ginny then, his eyebrow raised.

"Was I talking to you, carrot top?" he deadpanned.

"No, but you were eavesdropping on our conversation so I think I earned the right to join in on _your_ conversation," she answered with a casual shrug.

"It wasn't my fault that you talk so loud, carrot top. Anyway," Draco ignored her once again to look at his companion, "Zambini, you still haven't answered my question. I seem to overhear Pansy and Millicent whining about you already off the market," he clucked his tongue and shook his head, "Pity," he shrugged.

"Malfoy, shut-up," Blaise hissed from the side of his mouth, "You don't have any fucking idea what the hell you're talking about," he accused.

Draco's eyebrow rose a notch higher (if ever it _could_ raise any higher), "Half of the school's talking about it, Zambini. Every girl from Slytherin to Hufflepuff were _speculating_ that you and carrot top have been—"

"Stop calling me by that blasted name!" Ginny interrupted him when Draco referred to her by his new pet name for her.

"—_secretly_ seeing each other since…hmm…the beginning of the year?" Draco continued as if Ginny hadn't interrupted him.

"Ginny and I _aren't_ together. Those girls who started speculating about us being an item must have drank too much butterbeer that addled their thinking," Blaise replied.

"So _what_ was that tender moment those girls were talking about?" Draco insisted, very much interested to know what _really_ happened after Blaise saved Ginny during the first match of the season.

"Nothing," he denied hotly.

"Nothing?" Draco didn't look like he believed him at all. He cast a questioning look from Ginny's fuming face back to his housemate's blank one. "Somehow I doubt that."

"Think what you want to think, peroxide pest, but what Blaise just told you was the truth!" Ginny nearly yelled at the bull-headed Slytherin.

"Somehow I doubt that," there was a distinctive glint in the corners of his grey eyes that told Ginny the wheels in his head was turning. Draco Malfoy wasn't an easy person to dupe, and she wasn't the world's greatest liar either!

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes skyward and turned her back to him once more to conceal her facial expression. She knew if Draco Malfoy studied her face long enough he would be able to figure out that _something_ did happen shortly after Blaise saved her sorry behind. "Let's go, Abs," she hooked her arm with her friends and dragged Abigail to the direction of the courtyard where they intended to go in the first place.

"Ginny, wait!" it was Blaise who called her.

Ginny looked over her shoulder and caught Draco glaring at Blaise before the other Slytherin heartthrob excused himself from his companion. She could tell the two boys exchanged a couple of words that resulted in Draco wearing a very sour face, but Blaise ignored him and went to her anyway.

"What does he want now?" Abigail whispered as she watched the tall, dark haired Slytherin walk towards them.

"I have no idea," Ginny replied honestly. "Hey Blaise, what's up?" she asked when he finally reached them.

"Uh…" he glanced at Abigail then back at Ginny, "Mind if we talk alone for a couple of minutes?" he asked.

Abigail raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest, "And _why_ can't I hear what you have to say to my friend, huh?" she demanded.

"Because, Wilson, what I have to ask Ginny is so damn important that I don't want an audience lurking about," Blaise snapped at the brunette.

Abigail was about to argue with him when Ginny decided to step in and stop their brewing fight. She doesn't want Abigail to rearrange Blaise's face—or vice-versa!

"Abs, it's alright. Just give us a couple of minutes, okay?"

"But Gin—"

"He's a nice guy, although he could be a pompous jackass like Malfoy sometimes, but still, he's better than Malfoy," Ginny pointed out.

"Hey, _I'm_ standing here, by the way. Don't be talking about me as if I'm not around to hear it," Blaise complained when Ginny unwittingly insulted him.

Ginny frowned up at him, "Shut up, Blaise," she said then looked back at her friend who gave them a weary look before stepping away.

"Thank God she's gone," Blaise mumbled under his breath.

Ginny glared at him then, "Don't you dare be following that comment with an insult directed to my friend, Zambini," she threatened.

"Don't worry, Ginny, I won't, although I have quite a few choice of words to use on that hellion of a friend of yours," Blaise replied.

"Zambini…" she hissed.

"Okay, okay," Blaise raised his hands in surrender, "I won't call your best friend any names. Anyway, I just got one thing to ask you."

"Okay," she crossed her arms over her chest and stood back, waiting for him to go on.

Blaise looked confused all of a sudden—confused _and_ nervous at the same time.

"Zambini, what is it you wanted to ask me about?"

"Ginny…I…uh…well, what I wanted to ask is—" Blaise was saved from saying what looked to be something he was having a hard time spitting out when Draco suddenly appeared beside him, clapping him soundly at the back.

"Cat got your tongue, Zambini?" ridiculed Draco.

Ginny shot him a look that could have fried any person within range. Why does he keep on popping when he was least wanted to be at?

"What do you want now, bleached boy? Can't you see we're talking here?" she gestured at Blaise standing before her, "Go pester somebody else, alright?"

"No, not alright," Draco shook his head and turned to look at his housemate, "I would suggest you ask carrot top out later, Zambini. Practice starts in ten minutes," he reminded his housemate.

Blaise looked irritated at Draco.

"I know we have practice. And I'm _not_ asking Ginny out on a date. Go on ahead to the pitch, I'll show up on time. I always do," he snapped at the blond Quidditch captain.

"Not good enough, Zambini," Draco shook his head, "We're having a quick pep-talk before practice starts."

"I already know what we're going to discuss. Fill me in about the pep talk later at practice," he shooed Draco away and turned back to address Ginny, but Draco was persistent. He wouldn't leave him alone for just a couple of minutes to say his piece.

"Malfoy…" he snarled, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides when his friend and housemate wouldn't leave him alone.

"Look, Blaise, if this _pep talk_ bleached boy's itching about is so damn important then go. We can talk later," Ginny interrupted, sensing that Blaise and her wouldn't be able to have a decent conversation with Draco lurking about.

Blaise looked defeated, but he conceded nevertheless. He knew he wouldn't able to talk to Ginny anyway with Draco around. He bid her farewell and the two walked away arguing.

As they passed her Ginny stilled. That scent…it wafted towards her when Draco and Blaise walked by. Dumbstruck, she followed the two departing Slytherin with her gaze. Could her APC be either one of those two?

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**A/N:** sorry for the delay. I didn't have any Internet connection the past 2 weeks so I wasn't able to upload this soon. And to make this short, a huge THANK YOU shout-out to all! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll try and get the next one out soon. THANKS!!


	10. Harry's Concern

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Note:** okay, as a treat I think I owe you guys another chapter to be uploaded right away, so here it is. BTW, can you make a guess as to _who_ Ginny's APC is now? I think I left a clue in the previous chapter as to _who_ he could be *wink, wink*

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**XX. Harry's Concern **

Harry was waiting for Ginny and Abigail inside the common room when the two girls appeared through the portrait hole deep in discussion about something. All day long he was concerned about whatever Ginny was keeping from them. They weren't really close to begin with, but over the years they both learned how to be cordial toward each other and actually became well acquainted. They can have a decent conversation now without Ginny blushing profusely or him feeling awkward because he knew his best friend's kid sister fancied him.

"Ginny, got a minute?" he called out to the two sixth years when they passed by the couch he was sitting on.

Ginny looked apprehensive. She knew what was coming or _guessed_ what was coming, and somehow she was plotting on ways to kill her brother for wrangling Harry into this mess. Just because she didn't enjoy Ron breathing down her back doesn't mean she wouldn't mind one of his friends to do it for him!

"Harry, if Ron sent you to talk to me—"

Harry raised his hand to stop her from finishing her sentence. He got up from the couch and crossed the room towards where the two friends were standing. He turned to Abigail and asked her if she could leave them alone.

Abigail rolled her eyes skyward and shook her head, "I seem to be getting booted out of your company today, Gin," she muttered and walked around Harry towards the stairs, "I'll be in the room when you're done," she told Ginny and ran upstairs.

Once Abigail was gone, Harry turned with a confused frown etched on his face.

"What does she mean by that?" he asked.

"Don't mind her. Blaise wanted to talk to me earlier and he asked _her_ to leave us alone as well so we could talk alone," she gave a careless shrug then met his gaze, "Now, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"_Zambini_ wanted to talk to you?" he looked flabbergasted.

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?"

"He's not your boyfriend, is he?"

"What?" Ginny couldn't believe this. Word sure travel fast around at Hogwarts. "Why would you think that he's my boyfriend?"

Harry shrugged, "Because that's what half of the school believed?" he replied lamely.

Ginny made a face at him.

"And you believe school rumour?" she mocked.

"Not really, but after that blunt announcement of yours earlier about getting a little something-something on the side, it made me wonder," he replied honestly.

"Look, I said what I said because I wanted to throw Ron off. He's on overprotective big brother mode and it's kinda getting annoying. I get enough of that already from the other boys, why won't he just leave me alone?"

"Because he loves you," he answered simply.

"And I love him too, but do I give a hoot about him necking with whomever he felt like necking with?" she questioned, her eyebrow raised and her arms firmly crossed over her chest. When Harry failed to give her an answer, she continued. "I _don't_ give a damn whether Ron make out with a Slytherin or a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw even!"

"Ginny—"

But Ginny wasn't finished. She cut Harry off before he could say another word out.

"Tell my brother that I appreciate his concern about my welfare _and_ about my so-called love life—or lack of it—but I would _greatly_ appreciate it if he kept the hell out of it!"

Harry was momentarily rendered speechless. This new side of Ginny was really surprising him. He never pegged her to be this blunt and passionate about getting her brother to stop pestering her. But he wasn't here on Ron's behalf. Ginny might not believe it, but just because he couldn't see her as anything more than Ron's kid sister doesn't mean she couldn't be the sister he never had to him. He worries about her too. He was actually close to suffering from a heart attack when he saw her fell off her broomstick during their first match of the season.

"I will relay the message to your brother, Gin, but let me just get one thing straight right now. _I_ am not here on Ron's behalf," he paused and watched her face take on a stunned expression.

"R-Ron didn't send you to talk to me?" she stammered, a hint of pink starting to form at her neck then slowly moving upwards until hints of it appeared on her cheekbones. Apparently she misjudged him. She jumped right into some unfounded conclusion about the real reason behind Harry wanting to talk to her.

"Nope," he shook his head.

"Then _why_ do you want to talk to me if Ron hadn't sent you to do it for him?"

"Because I'm worried about you, Gin. I've known you since you were eleven, and over the years I've grown to love you like a kid sister. I find myself another one of your brothers fretting over you, wanting to shield you from the harshness of the world outside our protective barrier cast around you," he explained.

"So all this time that I'm berating at you for being Ron's pawn wasn't true?"

"That's right."

"Then I owe you an apology then, don't I?"

"Not really. I think you deserve to vent out your frustrations over our over protectiveness when _you're_ concerned," he smiled.

Ginny looked relieved. "Thank you," she smiled back. "Unlike my brothers, _you're_ the kind of brother I wanted. You're nice, understanding, and doesn't really crowd me much and suffocate the life out of me like my real brothers do."

Harry beamed at the compliment.

"Wow, wait 'til Ron hears about that," he chuckled.

"Hmm…well, I'll make a note to point it out to you when _he's_ within hearing range," she grinned mischievously.

"I betcha he'll be jealous."

"Maybe," she nodded.

"Well, I'm glad we got that straightened out, _but_ you still haven't answered my question."

"What was it?" she frowned.

"Are you and Zambini together?"

"Oh brother," she rolled her eyes heavenwards and shook her head. "You're still going on about that?"

"Hey, as a concerned _brother_, you can't blame me from wanting to know the real scoop," he pointed out. "Now, _spill_," he ordered.

"I am not spilling anything to you, Harry Potter. I may like you, but even I am not that thick to spill my secrets to any brother of mine—_overprotective_ or not, I might add."

"Aww…Ginny…" he whined.

"_Harry…_" she mimicked, walking about him to go upstairs.

"Gin, if you trust me and like me more than you like your other brothers, then you _will_ share it with me, won't you?" he dogged after her, giving her that hopeful, puppy-dog look in his eyes.

"I said I won't and I keep my word," she told him haughtily and continued marching up the stairs with Harry dogging behind her still. He would've entered the girl's dormitory if Ginny hadn't turned around and braced her hand firmly on his chest, pushing him away from the door. "You know what? I'm beginning to regret ever telling you that I like you more than I like my brothers," she gave him a light shove then waved, "Bye-bye, Harry."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Why is Harry suddenly all over you, Gin?" Abigail asked. She doesn't look too happy that Harry was often seen hanging around Ginny since the night she had a talk with him.

"Just ignore him, Abs. He's just trying to get some dirt outta me," Ginny replied, concentrating on finishing up her homework that was due today.

"What kinda dirt?"

"Like the dirt that everybody else in school kept on whispering about when they thought I couldn't hear them," Ginny shrugged. It had been a couple of days since she unwittingly announced that she was getting a little something-something (although she wasn't really, except for that one time with her APC after her detention, but she hadn't heard from him since—and even then they only made out in the dark) from someone, but the students were still eager to find out _who_ was the man she was hiding.

"And did you tell him about your APC?" Abigail was the only person who knew what happened that Friday after Ginny was done serving detention. Somehow Ginny couldn't keep the incident to herself and she needed to talk it out with someone, and that someone happened to be her best friend who was the only person who knew about her APC to begin with.

"Are you crazy?" Ginny put down her quill and gave her friend an incredulous look, "If Harry's anything like my brothers, I'm sure he'd want to seek out _who_ my damn APC is and have a heart-to-heart talk with him."

Abigail sniggered, "Good for you, Gin," she applauded.

Ginny rolled her eyes at her friend and went back to answering her homework. She was answering the last of Oliver's long-list of homework questions when someone announced that the mail was here. Ginny looked up on instinct, watching out for that particular owl that often delivered her mail from her APC. So far each eagle, tawny, barn, and Harry's snowy owl swooped in to the large hall, none of them carried a letter to Ginny from her APC.

Abigail saw her friend looking longingly at the owls swooping overhead. She shook her head and gave her friend a pat on the shoulder, "I don't think he remembered you this time, Gin. Remember how long it took before you received his second letter?" she reminded.

Ginny tore her gaze from the swooping owls overhead and looked at her friend, "You're right. And that little _incident_ of ours last Friday? Maybe it was just a fluke," she shrugged, "someone's way of playing a very cruel joke on me once again," she pouted and concentrated back on finishing her homework.

"Now, now Gin, don't be thinking that way," scolded Abigail. "Maybe your APC haven't got time to sit down and write you a letter. Maybe he's mind is still reeling from that rendezvous of yours last Friday to actually get something written down on paper," she excused.

Ginny looked up at the ludicrousness of her friend's assumption and looked at Abigail as if she was demented, "Abs, what happened between us that night isn't something _big_ that would get him off kilter," she pointed out.

"So? A lot of things could have happened to him since that night," she shrugged. "Anyway, I say don't worry about it. Remember whenever you least think about it you get a letter from him? So just let it go and you'll soon…" Abigail's voice trailed off when something pointy landed on top of her head. "_Ouch!_" she yelped and rubbed the spot where it was poked.

"Who's sending you a letter?" Ginny frowned as she looked at the envelope that landed in front of Abigail.

Abigail picked it up and turned it around. She smirked and raised an eyebrow, "It's not for me, Gin. It's for you," she handed the envelope to her surprised friend.

"For me?" she took the envelope and read to whom it was addressed for. As always it was written using the same scrawl and addressed to _Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House_.

"I think his owl needs to wear specs!" Abigail hissed as she continued rubbing the spot where the letter landed on her head. "It hurts," she complained.

Ginny bit her lower lip and apologized on behalf of her APC's owl.

"Well? Aren't you going to open that?"

"I—I don't know," Ginny shrugged.

Abigail rolled her eyes skyward, "Will you just open it? You've been waiting for that thing to arrive and now that it has…well, just read it!" she cajoled.

Ginny stared at the envelope for a while. A part of her wanted to open it while the other part didn't want her to, which was weird of course since she had wanted to receive a single piece of correspondence from him since that night she came back from detention with Oliver.

"Ginny, if you don't open that after I counted to three, I'll do the honours for you," she threatened and started counting.

"Okay, okay. I'll open it," Ginny caved it and practically ripped the envelope open.

_No more sadn ess_

_I wanna be the one to make you happy   
I wanna be the one to give you hope   
But, in these days of conscious living   
We've got to take it slow   
You can't be sure of who you've met   
You just don't know what you might get   
'Cause, in these crazy times we're living   
Love can turn into regret _

_But you   
Could be the one to change my point of view   
It's all up to you _

_Give you love without the pain   
Show you light beyond the rain   
Gonna make you happy   
Gonna make you happy now   
There'll be days when things go wrong   
I'll be there to make you strong   
Gonna make you happy _

_I wanna find a place where dreams can happen   
I wanna find a love who'll take me there   
And, in your eyes, I see a vision   
That makes me want to care   
And, if two people both agree   
That only love can set them free   
Then, together, let us make a world   
Of which others only dream _

_And you  
Can be the one to make it all come true  
So what you gonna do? _

_Some days, the sun don't wanna shine  
And I'll be yours and you'll be mine  
Gonna make you happy  
Happy  
I ain't the kind to be untrue  
I wanna spend my life with you  
Gonna make you happy, yeah  
Make you happy, yeah _

_Gonna make you happy  
Make you feel so good  
Happy in love  
Love without the pain  
Light beyond the rain  
Gonna make you feel so good  
Happy  
It's all up to you  
Be your love  
  
I wanna be your love  
Show you light beyond the rain__  
So what you gonna do?_

"Uh-hm," Abigail mumbled, reading the letter over her friend's shoulder. "He's really got it bad for you, Ginny, I can tell. And God, why does he have to be so damn sweet and romantic?" she complained, looking at her friend and watching Ginny's face suddenly blossom. "And I think you got it bad too," she added when she noticed that love-sick-puppy look on her friend's face.

Ginny sighed and set the letter down. She looked across the room at the Slytherin table and her smile grew even wider as her eyes landed on the tall dark brown haired Slytherin seventh year with hazel eyes and strong arms.

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**A/N:** Alright, a sucky ending for this chapter and I apologize. My head's pounding and I want to get this done and I can't think of any possible way of ending it so I ended it the way I did. I'll try and make it up to you guys in the next chapter.

**A/N 2:** btw, our APC borrowed Celine Dion's _**Make You Happy**_

**PhoenixRae's THANK YOUs:**

_SAngel, Crystal, Faxton, vanns_ (**thanks for that song idea, actually, I already have that song listed and it's going to be used in later chapters, hehehe**)_, Krissy, Lady Laughs-A-Lot, Imp, ChoChanger, analie, blue_angel, crazyfriendsfan_ (**our APC will soon be revealed. I think in the next couple of chapters you'll soon find out _who_ he is *winks***)_, avapouhi, Lia_ (**thanks for liking Ron & Ginny's arguments, and that crack Ginny said just to piss off Ron's an ultimate fave of mine. I just wrote it out of the blue because...well, because I couldn't help myself from laughing and I could just picture Ron's reaction when I wrote it**)_, Princess Amelia, cassi0peia, kat, crystal magic, MelissaAdams, Kendis, jlo's-lil-baby, purus.flere, Miss Marauder_ (**you got that right, girlie. I'm narrowing her APC down now so his identity will be revealed very soon**)_, fishy, Mi, mavis_ (**thanks for not giving up on me so soon! *lol* I was kinda miffed when I couldn't upload the previous chapter soon enough, but now that I have my Internet back I think I'll be able to upload every other day now**)_, animezebra_ (**I guess you'll just have to find out in the next chapters what Blaise wanted to ask Ginny**)_, Lady in White, Crimson, Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey_


	11. Ginny's BIG Mistake

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Note:** Okay, here's the next chapter. Well, I think I let you guys wait long enough to find out _who_ our APC is so I've decided to reveal him to you all. Well…uhm…we'll see how _this_ chapter goes first, hehehehe *winks* but in case I didn't get around to revealing our APC _here_, I'm sure…uh…no, wait, I think I _will_ reveal him in this chapter, how's that? *huge smile* Now read & enjoy!

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**XXI. Ginny's BIG Mistake **

Hogsmeade weekend. The whole school was buzzing with suppressed excitement for the upcoming weekend. It was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year and the entire student body (with the exception of the first and second years) were giddy with excitement. They couldn't wait to go to Zonko's and Honeydukes to stack-up on their supplies of joke stuff and sweets.

Ginny, however, was a little apprehensive about going. She kept on wringing her hands together all day Friday, _dreading_ the upcoming weekend. She didn't tell Abigail this, but last night she received another owl from her APC. Seemed like their first rendezvous wasn't enough and he asked to meet with her at Hogsmeade (someplace private and dark of course—at least that was what he told her). At that time she was giddy with anticipation that she quickly scrawled _yes_ on the same parchment he sent and gave it back to his owl that waited for her response.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ she kept on berating herself long after the owl flew out of her bedroom carrying her reply. Anxiety started to settle in as soon as the owl hooted its approval at her reply and flew out of the room. It was already too late for her to call the blasted bird back, and she didn't want to follow it outside because she knew she would _never_ find it. The owl was too damn fast and she was already sleepy after finishing a five inches long essay for Oliver. Damn, that man sure works his student ragged sometimes, but she can't really blame him because he was just doing his job. Nevertheless she was too damn tired last night to run after a bird carrying her response to an invitation she hastily accepted without further reconsideration.

"Hey Ginny, are you okay?" Abigail asked as she and her friend walked out of the Entrance Hall following the others to head to Hogsmeade.

"Yeah," Ginny replied a bit distractedly.

"You don't look okay," Abigail pointed out. "C'mon girl, you know you can share whatever's bothering you with me. I won't spill."

"I know that, Abs, but…" Ginny's voice faltered as they continued to descend the stone steps from the Entrance Hall.

Abigail finally gave up. She knew Ginny was in some kind of a rut, now what was the rut about she doesn't know nor would she find out any time soon.

Ginny wasn't her usual chirpy self as they hit Hogsmeade. She went with Abigail and a few of their friends to Honeydukes and bought herself some sweets, then she told them she wasn't feeling well and parted with them en route to Zonko's.

"Hey Gin, where are you going?" called Abigail.

"The Three Broomsticks!" Ginny called back. "I'll just see you there," she promised.

"Okay," Abigail agreed.

Ginny waved at her friends and set off to the Three Broomsticks. She glanced at her watch and noted the time. She agreed to meet with her APC out by the Shrieking Shack in half an hour. Would she go or wouldn't she go? _Oh hell, some rut you got yourself in to, Weasley,_ she scolded herself and entered the pub. She went straight to the counter and ordered herself a pint of butterbeer (she needed something to boost her confidence if ever she decided to meet with her APC) and found a secluded booth out of sight from anyone's view.

She marched towards the booth and was about to park her behind when she saw that it was already occupied. And the person seated there was someone she'd rather not be with right now.

Her brown eyes clashed with the cool gray eyes of Draco Malfoy. Ginny's breath stilled in her throat and in her lungs. She felt that zinging sensation tickling her right from the roots of her hair right through to the tips of her toes once again. Damn, how could he do that to her? A simple glance; a mere locking of gazes; and _foom!_ She felt all damn dizzy!

"Oh, sorry. I thought this booth was empty," she said haughtily and turned to look for another booth to drink her butterbeer in peace.

"The whole pub's full, carrot top. Might as well join me," he invited, taking a swig of his own drink.

Ginny froze from walking away. Like a robot she slowly turned and stared wide-eyed at the blond haired Slytherin seventh year lounging lazily in the booth.

"What?" Draco suddenly looked uneasy. He was used to being gawked at, but the way Ginny was looking at him was something else.

"Did—did you just invite me to sit with you?" she looked confused. The last thing she expected to receive from the likes of Draco Malfoy was courtesy.

Draco raised an aristocratic eyebrow, his gray eyes moving up and down her once before settling his icy gaze on her shocked face.

"And what if I did? Got a problem with that, carrot top?" he sneered.

"I wouldn't really call it a problem, bleached boy," she replied smugly.

"Oh?" he challenged, that aristocratic brow still raised.

"Yeah," she nodded, not sure what the hell she was saying. Somehow those penetrating gray eyes of his were making her linger a while longer and slug-it out verbally with him. She slid into the seat across from him, setting her pint of butterbeer in front of her and made herself comfortable.

"Then what would you call it?"

She shrugged slightly, drawing the straw she asked Madam Rosmerta to put on her drink towards her lips. "A _rare_ occurrence," she answered simply.

"Is that right?" Draco slouched in his seat; his arm resting on the backrest of the seat while his back was part against the wall and against the cushioned backrest.

"Uh-hm," Ginny nodded.

"So where's your boyfriend?" he asked.

"I don't have a boyfriend, bleached boy," she answered quickly.

"Oh no?" his brow rose again. "I thought Zambini is your boyfriend?"

Ginny glared at him from across the table.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Malfoy, that Blaise and I _aren't_ together?"

"Now you see, carrot top, I would normally believe you—" Ginny raised an eyebrow in disbelief at what he just said, but Draco ignored her and continued with his explanation, "—but under certain circumstances, I chose to think otherwise."

"And why is that, huh?"

"Why is what?" he took a swig of his drink and placed his mug with a soft _thud_ back on the table.

"Don't be coy with me, Malfoy. You know what I'm talking about."

Draco chuckled and took his time from answering. He circled his index finger around the rim of his mug, occasionally casting a quick glance at the young woman sharing the booth with him.

"Malfoy…" she hissed when she could wait no longer for his reply.

"What?" he looked up at her, his gray eyes filled with utter innocence that Ginny felt she wanted to claw his eyes out from their sockets.

"_Argh!_ You're being impossible, bleached boy," she snatched her drink and started to slide out of the booth, but Draco's leg came up and rested on her seat, blocking her from sliding out. Ginny cast him a glare that could melt metal, but Draco didn't flinch. He kept his foot where it was, his arrogant smirk plastered on his handsome face, and he looked as though he was enjoying annoying her.

"I'm leaving now, Malfoy," she announced on a levelled tone of voice.

"So?"

Ginny's eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch, "Your foot's on my way. I suggest you remove it or I remove it for you," she threatened.

"I don't think you can," he challenged.

He was right. She _can't_ remove his foot. Why? Simple. She didn't want to leave. _But that's absurd, Ginny!_ a small voice at the back of her head scolded, _You don't honestly mean you'd rather stay here in this booth with a Malfoy, do you?_

Actually she does. For some odd, twisted reason, she wanted to stay where she was. At least with Malfoy around to annoy her, she would be distracted with this other pressing matter she unwittingly got herself in to.

"Just sod off, Malfoy," she hissed, placing her drink back on the table.

Draco raised his eyebrow once more. "So I take it you're staying?"

"Whatever. It's either here or face…" her voice trailed off and she gave herself a mental shake. What was wrong with her? She was _thisclose_ to telling Malfoy she was about to rendezvous with her APC. Now _what_ made her want to tell him that when she couldn't tell her best friend what she did the night before?

Draco, on the other hand, seemed to be hanging on to what she was saying and was waiting for her to continue. When she showed no sign of saying anything more, he tried to cajole some information out of her.

"It's either here or face _who_, carrot top?"

"It's none of your business, bleached boy."

"Aw, come _on_, Weaslette, you can't just say something like that and _never_ tell me the rest!" he complained.

"Why not?"

"Because it's annoying, that's why," he snapped. "Now, either you tell me who you'd rather not face and why," he demanded.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to know."

"Why?"

"Is it bad to wonder _who_ you're hiding from?"

Ginny looked like she was about to say something else, but at the very last minute she opted to ask, "Why?" instead.

"Because I want to know, that's why," his patience was dwindling on a very thin thread. If she asked him why one more time he swore he'd reach over and kiss that pretty mouth of hers just to shut her up! _Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, boy,_ a voice at the back of his head warned him.

"Why?" Ginny frowned.

"Weasley…" he hissed through gritted teeth.

Ginny knew she was pushing his buttons here, but she doesn't care. He was the one who wanted to pry into her personal life. If he couldn't take the hint that she didn't want to talk about it, then he'd have to suffer getting _annoyed_ with her constantly asking him why.

"Why?" she asked one more time and she watched Draco Malfoy lose his cool. He slammed his fist down hard on the flat surface of the table, making a loud ruckus and drawing attention to where they were from other patrons.

Ginny, who sat facing the crowd, turned beet red and gave the onlookers an apologetic smile before casting a glare at the man hidden from everyone else's prying eyes.

"Did you have to do that?" she snapped irately at him.

Draco gave her a you-made-me-do-it smirk and took a sip of his drink. Ginny rolled her eyes skyward and ignored the boy across from her. She glanced at her watch and noted that she only had fifteen minutes left to spare before she had to meet her APC. Somehow she wasn't looking forward to it anymore. All these thoughts were running crazy inside her head. What if whom she thought was her APC was wrong? What if the letter she received last night was a just a joke? What if whoever sent that letter wanted to make a fool out of her? What if…what if…what if…_damn!_ Why the heck was she stressing herself out over this?

"Look, Weasel, if I promise not to annoy you, will you keep me company?" he bargained.

"You will?"

"Well…I could _try_ to be nice to you," he amended with a slight shrug.

Ginny rolled her eyes at him; typical male response. They can make _tons_ of idle promises, but they can never guarantee to follow-through with it.

"Whatever, Malfoy," she ignored him for the time being, but you can't just easily ignore Draco Malfoy; not when he was seated across from you inside a semi-secluded booth at the back of the Three Broomsticks surrounded by your fellow schoolmates who had other things to think about than gossip about Ginny and the person she was sharing her booth with who was oozing with non-stop male testosterone that…oh God, she better stop thinking or else she wouldn't be able to concentrate on the real problem at hand: her impending _rendezvous_ with her APC.

Draco noticed that Ginny's mind was elsewhere. He already picked up on that obvious fact the moment he saw her walked in to the pub looking confused and nervous.

"Where's your sidekick, carrot top?" he asked when he noticed that Abigail has yet to grace them with her company.

"I thought you were going to be nice to me?" she glared accusingly at him.

"Hey, I said I'll _try_ to be nice," he corrected her.

"Whatever," she turned her attention back on her drink, her mind racing. She kept on glancing at her watch, counting down the minutes until she had to leave and meet with her APC.

"Where is your loyal sidekick really?" Draco asked her again.

"Why do you want to know?" she snapped at him.

"Because I find it _odd_ that you're sitting here all by yourself _without_ your faithful other half, that's why."

"Abby's got a life and so do I."

"I see," he nodded then pushed away from where he was leaning against and rested his arms on the table. "In other words, you and Wilson got into a fight, huh?"

"What's it to you whether Abby and I got into a bit of scrap with each other or not, huh?" she snapped at him.

"Whoa! No need to bite my head off, Weasley. I was just merely making an assumption," he backed off from the annoyed redhead.

"Well make an assumption elsewhere, alright? I'm glad you were _kind_ enough to share this booth with me since this whole pub's a bit crowded today, and just because I accepted your offer doesn't mean that you're welcome to snoop into what's going on in my life!"

Draco raised an eyebrow at her heated argument. He wasn't really snooping. He was just curious, that was all. How could she plainly mistaken his curiosity for snooping? Not that curiosity often killed the cat, but in this case he'd get his neck snapped into two if he doesn't back off. And _why_ would he back off? It was very often he found himself in the company of the alluring (oh, hell yeah he found her alluring! She was a damn good sight on her broomstick too if anyone cared to ask him that) Gryffindor redhead—the last of the infamous Weasley clan to attend Hogwarts until they all married off and produced their own little Weasleys to grace their damn alma mater once again.

"A bee in your bonnet, Weaslette?" he inquired, frowning at the elfin-shaped freckled face of the youngest Weasley offspring.

"What's it to you, Malfoy?"

"Just wondering," he shrugged.

"Just wondering, huh?" she echoed, mockery lacing her tone as she took a sip of her drink. He thought she would ignore him again, but he was surprised when, after she was done quenching her thirst, she spoke again. "Can a person be utterly stupid for being _fascinated_ and probably close to becoming deliriously in love—which hasn't happened yet but it's getting to that—with a faceless admirer?" she asked, scrunching her small face into a curious scowl.

At the mention of 'faceless admirer,' Draco found his back stiffening like a floorboard.

"Y-you're _fascinated?_" he echoed, chastising himself from stammering when he spoke.

"Yeah," Ginny obviously didn't notice him flubbing his words.

"How so?" now he was interested in finding out every bit of detail she'd care to share with him. Somehow he found it _vital_ to learn about these stuff from her first-hand than hear it from someone else.

Ginny pouted. Such red, succulent lips that Draco wouldn't mind losing himself into kissing senseless. But of course he must rein-in his rampaging hormones. Since she stepped in to the pub unescorted by her friend (or friends sometimes when she felt like going out in a group), Draco did his best to prevent himself from getting up and walking towards her, dragging her somewhere dark and quiet where he could kiss her passionately…like the last time…

He mentally shook his head, expelling the memory from his mind. He need not be clouded with that one fantastic chance he had of finding her alone and in the dark. This wasn't the time to reminisce about that. She was just about to tell him about her secret admirer, something he was so damn dying to find out _what_ she honestly thought about it.

"Well…because…" she paused and gave him a piercing look, "Wait, _why_ do you want to know? Don't tell me you're just curious 'coz I just think you're snooping," she accused.

"Hey, I'm bored here, alright? Might as well listen to you whine about some non-existent admirer," he sat back, pretending to look less interested at what she was about to tell him when deep down inside he was dying to find out exactly what she thought of the whole secret admirer thing.

"So you find it _amusing_ to hear about my so-called admirer?" she raised an eyebrow, "Oh jeez, I'm _so_ flattered to ever capture your fancy, Malfoy," she snapped and decided to shrink back into her shell.

_Dammit! Nice move, Malfoy,_ he scolded himself.

"Look, it seems to me you look bothered unless my eyes are deceiving me," he wanted to cajole her to _talk_ to him, not shut him out so he was doing every tactic he learned that girls like and tried to cajole her into speaking to him. "I promise I won't make fun of you and your so-called faceless admirer. If you feel like talking about it…" he left it hanging at that, waiting for her to take the bait.

And took it she did!

With a hearty sigh, she slouched against the seat's cushy backrest and pouted.

"I unwittingly agreed to meet with him today," she finally confessed.

Draco gulped.

"And?"

"And I don't know," she shrugged.

He pretended to look confused (but that wasn't hard to do since he _was_ indeed confused). "Why not?"

"Because after that snogfest we had that night we had detention—you remember that one?" she gave him a pointed look.

Of course he remembered! How could he not? Wood was pissed right off with what he did, but he finally conceded and he owed his History of Magic professor a whole damn much for manipulating the situation to _his_ advantage.

He pretended to look appalled (just for the sake of _pretending_ alright?) at what she just said.

"My, my, carrot top, I didn't know you had it in you to be lurking about in dark corners at night snogging some faceless bloke," he couldn't help but teased her. It was his only way from masking the sudden tensioning of his entire body.

Ginny looked annoyed at him for not taking her seriously.

"Do you want me to share this with you or not?" she threatened.

"By all means, _share,_" he encouraged. Any smart-alecky remark from him must be suppressed.

"Thank you," she cleared her throat and continued on with what she was saying. "I only received his letters. I never had the chance to reply back to him—until last night when I received an owl from him inviting me to meet with him today," she paused and let her eyes wander across the room. She let out a hearty sigh before continuing, "His letters were romantic and mushy. According to Abby, who reads them—"

"_Wilson_ reads your owls?" he cut-in.

"Yes, I let Abby read 'em since…well, since I can't really keep it to myself anymore after I received his first letter. Anyway, according to Abs, whomever my APC is—"

Again he cut her off by raising his hand, "Whoa, whoa, _whoa._ APC?" he echoed.

"Yeah," Ginny nodded. "It's our codename for him. It stands for Annoying Prince Charming since calling him my secret admirer is too clichéd."

"Oh, I see," he nodded, then after repeating what the acronym stands for he frowned and asked, "_Annoying?_"

"Yes, _annoying_."

"Why call your admirer _annoying_ if you said it so yourself that you're both fascinated and close to becoming deliriously in love with him?"

"Because around the time Abs and I came up with a codename for him I was already getting annoyed because I have no idea _who_ he was and yet I was eagerly awaiting his _next_ letter—which freakily arrived that same night."

"Ah, I see," he nodded in understanding, although not quite, but he nodded still and with a flutter of his hand he gestured for her to continue.

"Are you sure you're not going to interrupt me anymore?"

"I can't promise you that, carrot top," he grinned. "You and Wilson have certain codes that I'm afraid I'm not familiar with, but I'll do my damnedest to understand as much of what you're saying," he winked.

"Don't worry, 'APC' is the only code you'll probably hear," she assured him.

"Is that right?"

"Malfoy…"

"Okay, okay. I'll quit stalling. Now, speak," he commanded.

"I am _not_ a dog," she sniped at him looking very much offended.

"I don't know how else to word, Weasley. So, _speak_," he repeated again.

"Malfoy…"

"Alright, alright. _Please_ continue. Is _that_ okay?"

Ginny awarded him with a warm smile, "Thank you. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, so Abs already made _that_ assumption about my APC, but I kept on doubting it. We even have a list of _possible_ candidates," she paused and chuckled at something only she knew what was funny about.

Draco frowned, "What's so funny?"

Ginny met his gaze then, her smiling brown eyes locking with his gray gaze. Draco swore his heart did triple somersault inside and the butterflies in his stomach fluttered. Hell, he didn't even know he _had_ butterflies in his stomach. Well, not when _girls_ were concerned anyway. But he knew Ginny was different, right from the start he knew she was a far cry from all those other girls he had been with.

"You wouldn't _believe_ the list I run and who I suspected was behind all those mushy love letters, but this last guess I'm quite certain was him alright," she sounded smug and so damn sure Draco felt scared for his well-being.

"And? Who were the _candidates_ for your APC?"

Ginny chewed on her lower lip. She was contemplating on whether or not she should share those information with him. After all, she already shared with him vital information that she and Abigail kept under wrap from almost everybody. But oddly enough she found it easier to talk this situation with an outsider, and not just _any_ outsider for that matter. She was having a _decent_ (if you could call this conversation of theirs that) conversation with Draco Malfoy. _Draco Malfoy!_

Abigail wouldn't believe her if she told her best friend about this incident.

"Weasley, are you going to tell me or let me sit here until I start sprouting spurs?"

"I don't know if I should tell you _who_ I considered before I came to a conclusion as to _who_ he could possibly be."

He frowned. "And why would you be worrying about that now? Not like I'd give a damn about it. I'm just hear to lend you a pair of ears."

"Oh gee, thanks a lot, bleached boy. And here I thought you're interested in hearing about me and my so-called APC because you wanted to help me out."

Okay, now what he said just came out wrong. He meant to be aloof still, but his aloofness went too far. Too late to backtrack now, might as well continue on being aloof.

"Oh, you wanted my help? I didn't know you were looking for _help_, carrot top," he ridiculed.

"_Argh!_ I shouldn't have talked to you about it. Damn you, Draco Malfoy!" she hissed and before Draco could stop her, she slid out of the booth, leaving her unfinished butterbeer, and stormed out of the pub.

Draco swore under his breath and waited two heartbeats before he followed the annoyed redhead. He saw her headed towards the direction of Shrieking Shack and decided to follow her. Hardly anybody went there so the chances of the two of them being seen together would be nil.

"Oi Weasley, wait up!" he called after her, part speed walking and part running just to catch up with her.

"Sod off, bleached boy. I'm pissed right off and my nerves a wreck, and _you're_ not helping me ease the tension I'm feeling. Nope. No siree. Not even one tiny bit," she continued walking with her arms wrapped tightly over her chest.

"Look, I didn't mean to make fun of you in there. I didn't know how serious you were about the whole APC thing. I thought you were just making it all up."

"Whatever," she snapped then belatedly realized what was happening. Her steps faltered until she came to a half just outside the shack. She slowly turned and looked at the blond haired Slytherin that just followed her outside the pub. "What the hell are you doing?"

Draco looked momentarily confused. What does it look like he was doing here?

"Uh…talking to you?"

"Uh…why?" she mimicked.

"Because that was what we were doing before you impolitely walked out on me at the Three Broomsticks, that's why."

"Uh, Malfoy? In case you didn't get the hint, I _don't_ want to talk to you. I _never_ wanted to talk to you to begin with. You just managed to wrangle me into talking to you although I don't know _how_ you did it, but you did. And besides, are you forgetting something?"

"What?" he looked utterly at a loss.

"You're Draco _Malfoy_ and I'm Ginny _Weasley,_" she stressed out their last names, hoping he'd get the hint. When he still looked lost, she rolled her eyes skyward and poked the side of his head with her index finger. "We _hate_ each other, bleached boy! Did you all of a sudden forget about that?"

_Yes!_ "No," he denied, grabbing her wrist and stopped her from drilling a hole on the side of his head. "But I was bored and you offered momentary entertainment, but then I was intrigued with what you were talking about. You can't possibly leave me hanging like that without telling me at least _who_ you think is your damn APC!"

"And what do you care about that?" she challenged.

"I don't!" he argued.

"You don't?" Ginny looked incredulous, "Then why the hell are you pestering me about _who_ my APC is?"

"I don't know!" he admitted, his voice rising with every word that came out of his mouth. "And don't ask me again. I just _want_ to know."

"But you don't care?"

"Right."

"This is getting no where," she waved him off and continued walking towards the shack, stopping only when she reached the fence warning people _away_ from it. To her utter dismay, Draco was still following her.

"Will you just leave me alone, Malfoy?" she hissed when he stopped right beside her.

"Why should I? You're upset. I don't want to feel responsible if ever you did something stupid such as kill yourself because you can't take the heat!"

"Heat to what?" she faced him fully now, her eyes wild from a mixture of annoyance at Draco's presence and anxiety because any minute now her APC would appear and she didn't want Malfoy to be around when she met her damn APC. "Just sod off, bleached boy. My APC's coming any minute now and I don't want any _audience_ to see," she tried pushing him away, to get him to walk back towards where the rest of the crowd was at Hogsmeade, but Draco wouldn't budge. He remained planted where he stood, making Ginny's task of sending him off a tad bit harder than it was suppose to be. "Malfoy…"

"What? What's got your knickers in a knot, Weaslette? Nobody's going to see us here together, you know," he pointed out to her.

"Nothing," she lied. "Just go, alright?"

"No," he crossed his arms over his chest, making sure that Ginny wouldn't be able to push him away.

"I said move it, ferret boy!"

"No."

"Malfoy…" Ginny's temper was close to snapping. Why wouldn't this git go away? Her APC would make his appearance any minute now, and the last thing she wanted was for anybody to see her with him.

"Weasley, _why_ are you so uptight? Who's this APC of yours anyway?" he looked a bit irritated at being shooed away.

"It's none of your business. And I _don't know_ who my APC is. I said I just have an idea as to _who_ he might be," she corrected.

"Well?" he raised an eyebrow. Apparently he won't move until she told him _who_ she thought was her APC.

"Well what?"

"Well aren't you going to tell me _who_ you think your APC is?"

"No," she answered firmly.

"C'mon carrot top. It's just me here," he cajoled.

"Yeah, it's just _you_ here with me which is why I'm _not_ going to say anything to you other than what I already mentioned."

"Look, tell me who you think he is then I'll be out of your way," he bargained, his gray eyes seeking her brown ones to let her know he was sincere.

Ginny knew she was fighting a losing battle. Either she tell Draco _who_ she thinks was her APC _or_ stand here probably all day trying to get rid of him. The answer was staring at her right in the face and she hated it.

"It's Blaise," she mumbled.

Draco blanched. "Pardon?" _Zambini?_ She must be joking!

Ginny jutted her chin into the air; her brown eyes meeting and locking gazes with his startled gray ones.

"I said Blaise," she repeated.

"_Zambini?_" his ears weren't deceiving him. "Zambini's _your _APC?" he looked appalled.

"I didn't say it was Blaise. It's just my hunch. And besides…" her voice trailed off, obviously thinking about something she hadn't told him about (he was hoping against hope she wasn't thinking it was _Zambini_ she was snogging with that night after they served their detention with Oliver!).

"Besides?" God, did he really want to hear what she was thinking about?

"Nothing," she shrugged. "Now _go away._"

"Weasley, I am _not_ moving from where I'm standing until you tell me what makes you think it was Zambini who was behind those letters, huh?"

"Just because," she answered vaguely.

"Uh, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, Weasley, but 'just because' doesn't count as an answer," he pointed out.

"Look, what's it to you whatever made me guess it was Blaise who was behind all those letters? So he's in the same house as yours. Big, bloody deal! At least _he_ isn't a pretentious prick like _some_," she gave him a meaningful glare, "people I know who shan't be named."

"_I_ am a pretentious prick?" he echoed. "I don't think so, Weasley."

"Whatever. I already told you who I think my APC is, so can you go now? _Please?_" she practically begged him to leave her alone. A quick glance at her watch told her it was already five minutes after three. Her APC would be lurking about somewhere now and he wasn't making an appearance while she was still with Malfoy.

Draco was still processing what Ginny just told him. Zambini? How in Merlin did she think Zambini wrote those letters?

Ginny was still waiting for him to budge, but he looked distracted and didn't seem like he was going to move at all.

"Malfoy, _leave!_" she hissed through gritted teeth.

"I will, but one more question then I'm gone."

Ginny expelled a frustrated sigh.

"Okay. What?"

"What made you think it was Zambini?"

"Because," she shrugged.

"Uh-uh. I told you, 'because' or 'just because' doesn't qualify as a valid answer," he reminded.

"_Why_ do you want to know?" she frowned.

"I won't answer your question until you answered mine."

"I already did."

"Nope. You gave me a vague reply that doesn't count at all."

"Alright," she conceded, annoyed at being grilled like this. He was worse than Ron and Harry combined! "I don't know _why_ you wanted to know but he just fits the bill. I mean he _saved_ me from my near-death experience during our first match, he's nice to me, he thought about me when I missed lunch that one time, and…he _just fits the bill_ of some lovesick Romeo. Oh, _oh!_ One more thing, he was about to ask me something that one time but you butted in so he didn't get the chance to."

"And you thought it was Zambini because he was suddenly sweet on you?" he made it sound so damn ludicrous that annoyed Ginny.

"Why? What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," he shook his head. "Nothing at all."

"Good," she nodded.

"Okay, I guess I better get going now," he slowly backed away from her. "Have fun meeting with your APC. Wish I could say tell me about it, but I doubt we'll ever get the chance to talk to each other like today."

Ginny frowned. He was acting strange. _Duh! Since when wasn't Draco Malfoy strange?_ a voice at the back of her head questioned. Good point. Nevertheless, she waved him off but with a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Somehow Draco leaving her alone to meet her APC didn't sound so damn appealing anymore. She'd rather butt-heads with Malfoy than play tonsil hockey (if ever they were going to play tonsil hockey again) with her mysterious APC.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

**A/N:** tun-dun-dun-dun…FINALLY! The long-awaited revelation. I know, I know, it's nothing too exciting since most of you already know _who_ her APC is. But for those of you who thought it was Blaise…uhm…sorry to disappoint you. After all, _this_ is Draco/Ginny fic so it's got to be Draco behind the mushy-sappy letters. *sheepish smile*

**PhoenixRae THANK YOUs:**

_hasapi_ (**nice to read your name in the reviewers lists. and sorry to confuse you about who the APC is**)_, Crystal, Lia _(**hehehe, the last line in the previous chapter was all part of the master plan**)_, fishy, Princess Amelia, kriss, Miss Marauder, Mi, Deedsla the Insane Monkey, Dragon Eyes, ChoChanger, Faxton, Cactuskitty, crystal magic, janhavi_ (**thanks for the song advice. and i dunno if i'll finish this during that time, but we'll see how long i'll go with this one**)_, MelissaAdams, Lady Phoenix Feather, Isis, moriana, Lady in white, monopolyQueen, ArrA, December's Girl_ (**no need to tell you sooner 'coz it's already revealed here, hehehehe**)_, meggist, crazyfriendsfan, AIrna, Lady Laughs-A-Lot, kat, purus.flere, Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey, Crystal Lily, Spirit of the Autumn, Neni Potter, CakeTwins, ~~~~ [_that's how you signed it so that's how i'm going to refer to you, hehehehe_], spunkygabi, wowsergirl_ (**oh yeah...gosh, i can't believe it. but i'm glad you liked both stories *smiles***)


	12. Zabini You Idiot

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Note:** well, I think the last chapter wasn't up to par. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I actually meant to end this fic with less than 15 chapters, but after what I just did in the previous chapter, I guess I just put another twist into the mix *lol* And also I decided to _correct_ Blaise's last name.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =  
**XII. Zabini You Idiot! **

Draco made damn sure to stay out of Ginny's way for the rest of the weekend. The only time he saw her was during dinner in the Great Hall. Even then the atmosphere was too thick he could hardly breathe. He needed to get outta there, but he didn't want to cause any suspicion from his housemates so he endured the whole ordeal. Watching Ginny from across the room mooning over Zabini was enough to make Draco want to stand up on the Slytherin table and yell out _he_ was her damn APC and he doesn't care who else knew about it. But he had better class than that. No need to make an even bigger fool out of himself by doing something as stupid as that.

Every time he glanced at the Gryffindor table he would catch a glimpse of Ginny looking longingly at the Slytherin table. But she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were directed at Blaise who was busy chattering away beside him. He was oblivious of the wondering look Ginny was sending him. Of course Zabini wouldn't notice. Ginny wasn't the girl he fancied. It was one of her friends that he fancied, but stupid Zabini, he had to act all nice and heroic-like which obviously made Ginny suspect _he_ was her secret admirer.

Draco could just read what was racing through her mind right now. He felt ruddy guilty at what he did to her Saturday afternoon, but he knew deep down he couldn't have faced her after what he just learned.

She thought he was Zabini. 

_Zabini!_ God, of all the people…he was shocked when she told him who was her prime suspect. He couldn't believe what he just heard, but Ginny clarified it and he knew his hearing wasn't impaired.

He nearly punched Zabini when he returned back to school that day, but he knew his friend wasn't at fault. Blaise had his reasons for being sweet on Ginny—it wasn't some devious plot to embarrass her. Zabini would sure get well acquainted with his fist if he did something devious to Ginny. No, Blaise's reason for being sweet and friendly towards Ginny had more to do with him wanting to find out some info about one of her friends that Blaise was pining for; he better not be pining for Ginny herself or Draco swore he wouldn't be held responsible for what he would do to Blaise if ever he tried to steal Ginny from him!

"Hey, what's the matter with you? You barely touched your food," Blaise nudged Draco on their way back to their dorm.

"Nothing," Draco shook his head and continued walking.

"It's not 'nothing,' Malfoy. You're pissed-off," Blaise pointed out. "Care I take a wild stab at _who_ pissed you off, hm?"

Draco threw him a glare worthy of skewering a wild boar. Blaise should've taken heed, but instead he pressed his luck and went on.

"It was Ginny, wasn't it?" he dropped his voice to a mere whisper so only his friend could hear. "I saw you followed her out of the Three Broomsticks. Actually, I saw you two seated in a booth. You both looked fan-bloody-tastic together, sitting there all chummy and all," he teased.

"Sod off, Zabini. I'm tired and I have tons of homework to do," Draco turned and walked towards the direction of the boy's seventh year dormitory.

"Yeah, right," Blaise followed him back to their dorm room, closing the door after him and watched Draco crawl into his bed and closed the drapes of his four-poster bed. He raised an eyebrow at his friend's odd behaviour and instead of leaving him alone, he went and disturbed him. "C'mon Malfoy, get out from in there. What the hell's really wrong with you?"

"None of your bloody business, Zabini. So leave me alone, will ya?" he snapped. "Can't anybody in here have some peace and quiet?"

"Not when you're in _my_ company, Malfoy," Blaise replied and pulled open the drapes. Draco remained unfazed, lying on his back in bed with an arm draped over his eyes. Blaise frowned and leaned against one of the poster bed's poles. "Your meeting with Ginny didn't go well, huh? She bolted as soon as she realized _who_ was the person behind all those sappy love letters you kept on writing?"

"Shut your mouth, Zabini, or I'll permanently shut it for you," Draco threatened.

"Oooh, I'm scared," Blaise mocked.

Draco turned his back to Blaise and _tried_ to ignore his annoying presence, but Blaise wasn't that very easy to ignore. Draco felt his bed dip at Blaise's weight and he knew what that meant: Blaise would _drill_ him until he got an answer from him.

"Zabini, what part of 'leave me alone' don't you understand, huh?" Draco snapped at his unwanted companion.

Blaise pretended to ponder on Draco's question then looked pointedly at the blond lying on the bed. "Actually the part where you want me to leave you alone," he deadpanned.

Draco growled and rolled his grey eyes skyward. God, why can't he have some peace and quiet for a change? Was that too much to ask?

"I just want to be alone, that's all," Draco replied.

"Why?" Blaise insisted.

"It's none of your business."

"Of course it _is_ my business, you git!" scolded Blaise. "Now, _what_ happened yesterday after your meeting with Ginny?" he insisted.

"Nothing. Just leave me alone, Zabini. I've got a lot on my mind right now," Draco turned his back to Blaise once again and pulled his pillow over his head.

Blaise rolled his eyes skyward and grabbed the pillow covering Draco's head. He threw it at the foot of the bed and leaned against one of the four-poster post.

"C'mon Malfoy, I have _all night_ to sit here and get the scoop out of you."

"Whatever, Zabini. I won't tell," Draco insisted.

"Are you sure?" he challenged.

"Go _away_, Zabini," Draco hissed.

"C'mon Malfoy, you know you can confide in me. Besides, I might be able to—"

"She thinks _you're_ her secret admirer," Draco butt-in in the hopes of shutting Blaise up. And he did.

Blaise blinked twice at the mention of _who_ Ginny thought was her secret admirer.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me right, Zabini, now go away. Leave me alone," Draco rolled on to his stomach and grabbed his other pillow to cover his head since Blaise took his other pillow.

"But-but…" Blaise reached over and pulled Draco's pillow from his head and threw it at the foot of his bed as well. "Malfoy, _why_ would she think that?"

Draco's reply was muffled since his face was pressed against the mattress. Blaise had to pry his friend away and turned Draco on his back.

"What did you just say?"

Draco glared at Blaise. Why couldn't he just leave him alone? He already told him what was bugging him and yet Zabini couldn't take the hint.

"I said go figure it out yourself. Now, leave me in peace, alright?"

"No, I won't," Blaise answered. "You're going to tell me _why_ Ginny thought _I'm_ her secret admirer when she met up with _you_ for your afternoon rendezvous?"

"She didn't know it was _me_ she was suppose to be meeting. I didn't get the chance to tell her that _I_ was the one who was sending her those letters," he explained.

Blaise frowned. "Then _how_ did you know she thought _I_ was behind those letters?"

"I asked her."

"And?"

"And she said she suspected it was _you_ because of the way you've been treating her lately."

"What?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Zabini, don't be an idiot. You know damn well what you've been doing this past few weeks. Befriending Ginny so you could score some brownie points when you ask her help with that girl you're fancying."

"Ginny misunderstood my friendliness," Blaise muttered, looking dumbstruck as he sank against the post of Draco's bed.

"Hell yeah," Draco snorted.

"Uh-oh," he mumbled.

" 'Uh-oh' is an understatement, Zabini. Now get out of my face before I changed my mind and rearrange _your_ face. I have been restraining myself from doing so since Saturday, but right now…"

"Okay, okay," Blaise got off Draco's bed, his hands raised to fend him off. "Sorry about that, mate. Didn't mean to screw things up between you and Ginny," he apologized and quickly turned away from the sulking blond and headed for his bed. He knew he had to do something to right what obviously was wrong. Ginny thinking that _he_ fancied her was bad. Hell yeah, it _was_ bad. How the heck would he be able to ask her to help him ask one of her best friends out on a date if she thinks he had the hots for her?

_Damn, Zabini. Great going. Now you have to approach this battle from a different angle. Can't have Ginny mooning over you. Malfoy would sure kick your arse if you get the girl of his dreams to fall for you instead!_ he scolded himself. 

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**A/N:** Phew! Sorry for the delay. I haven't had time to sit down and finish this chapter. Actually, it took me a while to finish this _short_ chapter coz…well, coz I was suddenly plagued with writer's block. Well, not really, but I just couldn't continue on with it coz I couldn't think of what to write. I had this whole chapter figured out in my head, but it was writing it down that held me back. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this one and I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as I can.

**A/N 2:** I know I normally say 'thank you' to each and every one of my reviewers, but as it as a very long list, I have to do this in one shout-out **THANK YOU ALL FOR READING, REVIEWING & BEING PATIENT WITH ME. **Some of the events from the previous chapters (i.e. _who_ was the person watching Ginny after she broke the fight between Ron & Draco) will be answered in future chapters. How far into the future chapters? I'm not sure yet, but be assured that before I end this story it'll be answered.


	13. I Need to Talk to You

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Note:** I apologize for the delayed update of this chapter. I was busy with work so I couldn't sit down and finish it. Hopefully this one won't take as long as the other one. And once again I thank you all who are waiting patiently for me to get the chapters out.

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XIII. I Need to Talk to You **

Blaise waited for Ginny to emerge from her last class of the day Monday afternoon. He had been practicing what he wanted to say to her almost all night last night and all day today. Heck, he nearly got himself a detention from McGonagall when he failed to pay attention in her class. Good thing he knew what she was discussing and got off easily by…well, simply answering her question correctly (after one of his classmates whispered what McGonagall asked him).

Blaise quickly spotted the redhead leaving her History of Magic class accompanied by her annoying best friend, Wilson. Honestly, Blaise couldn't understand _how_ Ginny could be friends with a know-it-all like Wilson. She was always so quiet and reserved while Wilson was often the most outspoken sixth year Gryffindor he ever met.

"Ginny!" he called to her as she walked away from the classroom immersed in a deep conversation with Abigail. They were too preoccupied with what they were talking about that she didn't hear him call out her name until he was walking behind them.

Blaise caught snippets of what the two sixth years were talking about. They were talking about last Saturday when Ginny's secret admirer stood her up.

"Ginny," he came around the two girls and leaned his head closer, disrupting the two sixth years from their in-depth conversation.

Ginny and Abigail jumped in fright when they heard Blaise's voice up close. They stopped walking and glared up at him.

"Zabini," Abigail said haughtily, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. "What brings you here?"

Blaise made a face at her and turned to Ginny, "Ginny, mind if we talk?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "What about?"

Blaise eyed Abigail carefully then looked back at Ginny, "Uh…mind if we talk _alone_."

Abigail rolled her eyes skyward, "Oh brother, not _again_," she complained and straightened up, stomped her foot and pushed Blaise out of the way. She looked back at Ginny, "You know where I'll be when this bozo's done with you," she reminded her friend then gave Blaise one last head-to-foot appraisal before walking off.

Blaise frowned at the departing Abigail then pushed her at the back of his head and looked back at Ginny, "Can we go for a walk down by the lake?" he invited.

"What for?" Ginny sounded miffed, probably because she was stood-up last Saturday—and he couldn't really blame her. Malfoy was being his stupid self. He should've seized the moment and set Ginny straight once and for all, but the prat lacked tenacity and tactic—stupid git indeed.

"For some privacy," he shrugged.

"Look, whatever it is that you wanted to talk to me about, I'm sure it isn't _that_ important for us to go for a walk down by the lake," she pointed out.

"Actually, it _is_ important and very _private_ so the less people to hear about it, the better."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Look, just go for a walk with me, alright? I'll explain on the way," he promised.

"Why should I trust you?" she questioned.

"And why the sudden cold shoulder?" Blaise frowned.

"You should know why."

Of course he knew _why_, but he'd be damned if he admitted it to her. Besides, if he admitted to knowing _why_ she was in a pissed-off mood, that might only confirm what _she_ suspected—and that was a big no-no as far as he was concerned. He'd be nailing the last nail on his coffin if he said something right now. Malfoy would surely punch the living daylights out of him if Ginny kept on thinking that _he_ was her damn admirer!

"Look Weasley, I don't know what you're on about, but what I have to tell you _might_ make you change your mind."

"Why should it?"

"Because it just _will_," he insisted. "Now, can we go?"

"Look Zabini, I am _not_ going to go _anywhere_ with you right now. In case you have forgotten, I need to get back to my dorm then head off to the Great Hall for dinner," she reminded him.

"I know that. As soon as we get a move on and started talking _then_ we'd make it in time for dinner."

Left with no choice, Ginny knew Blaise wouldn't leave her alone until he had this 'talk' with her. Whatever the hell for? What does he want to talk about? Was he going to apologize for standing her up last Saturday? _Oh God I hope he does!_ she thought irately. She was still a bit miffed after standing by the shack and waited for her so-called APC to make his damn appearance.

Once they cleared the Entrance Hall and were walking down the path to the lake, Blaise gathered his thoughts and weighed each word carefully. He had to do this right or Malfoy would sure have his hide.

"Ginny, I _know_ about your secret admirer," he began.

Ginny's steps faltered as soon as he said those words. She turned her head sideways and looked at the tall Slytherin seventh year wide-eyed.

"You-you…you what?"

Blaise stopped walking and faced her then. "I said I _know_ about your secret admirer. That's why I asked you to go for a walk with me so we could talk."

Ginny's mind was reeling. She doesn't know what to say nor do. Blaise knew about her secret admirer, so does that mean her suspicions were correct? And why does he want to talk to her about _that_ for crying out loud?

"What do you mean you _know_ about my secret admirer?"

"Exactly that."

"What?"

Blaise looked around to make sure nobody was around to see them, then he dipped his hand inside his robe and pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to her. Ginny looked down at what he was handing her and noted the familiar _Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House_ scribbled on it.

"What the hell?" she quickly looked up and met Blaise's eyes.

"Take it," he shoved it at her and waited until she took the envelope before adding, "It's not from me," he assured her when he saw her facial expression and those little wheels in her head started turning.

"What?" she frowned then looked down at the envelope in her hands then back up at him. "If it's not from _you_ then who is it from?" she questioned.

"Somebody I know."

"Who?" she insisted.

"Look, I am in no position to say. Let's just say that he's somebody I know."

"Meaning he's in the same house as _you_?"

Oooh, he got her there.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"But he's not you?"

Blaise frowned. "Why would think it was me?"

"Because…because I just had this damn gut-feeling and…why won't you tell me who he is? He's in Slytherin? Oh God…" she groaned.

" 'Oh God' what?" Blaise frowned. "Weasley, what's wrong? I just told you that I _know_ who your damn secret admirer is, the least you could do is be _happy_ about it."

"But he's not _you?_" she questioned.

Blaise rolled his eyes skyward. Sometimes _girls_ could be exasperating when they wanted to be! Why do they have to dredge things out in the open and talk for _hours_ about instead of taking what was presented to them at face value?

"Look, to clear things up I _know_ him. He's in the same house as I am. And that's all I'm gonna say."

"What? You're not even going to tell me what _year_ he's in?"

"Well…that would be giving it all away, wouldn't it?" he shrugged.

"That's unfair!" she complained.

"I think not. Look, I already gave you the letter. I already gave you _hints_ now it's up to _you_ to figure out who he is."

"And you're not gonna help me figure out _who_ this damn admirer of mine is?"

"Nope," he shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Some friend you are," she snorted and jammed the envelope in the inside pocket of her robe.

Blaise's eyebrow rose, "You consider _me_ a friend?" he echoed.

Ginny made a face at him, "_Technically_ speaking. You don't think I'd be really _chummy_ with some Slytherin arse, do you now?"

"_Ouch!_" Blaise placed his hands to where his heart was supposed to be located, "That hurts, Ginny! Here I am _helping_ you out figure who your damn admirer is and _this_ is how you're treating me?"

"Zabini, _if_ you are really a friend of mine, you'd tell me _who_ is behind all these letters that I'm receiving. But as it is, you're as stubborn as a mule so I don't consider you a _friend_," she explained.

"Like what I said, Weasley. _I_ am in no position whatsoever to say anything more than what I already told you," he insisted.

"Ugh! You're hopeless," she rolled her eyes at him then turned her back at him and headed back towards the castle.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Abigail looked back and forth between Ginny and the envelope lying face-up on Ginny's pillow inside the sixth year Gryffindor girls' dorm room. She knew that Zabini handed it to her a letter from her _Slytherin_ APC, but since Ginny returned back to the castle with the envelope burning a hole in her robe pocket Abigail noticed that her friend had this mesmerized look on her face.

"Gin, are we just going to _stare_ at it or are you going to open it up?" Abigail questioned when she could no longer stand the suspense.

"I don't know, Abs. I mean a part of me wanted to open this and the other part doesn't want to."

Abigail frowned, "Why not?"

"Because," Ginny shrugged, her brown eyes still fixed on the threatening envelope lying on her pillow.

"Because?"

"I don't know," she sighed and looked at her friend, "When Blaise told me it wasn't him I was devastated."

Abigail frowned, "Why?"

"Because…now I'm back to square one with _who_ my APC is."

"But didn't Zabini give you hints?"

"Yeah. He said he _knows_ who my APC and that he's in Slytherin."

"So there ya go! He made it _easier_ for you to pinpoint _who_ is behind all these letters."

"But Abs, the _only_ Slytherin boy that I would even consider _liking_ is Zabini, and he already assured me that it's not him who's sending me these letters."

"So? There's still _Malfoy_ to consider," Abigail pointed out.

"Malfoy?" Ginny nearly choked. "Are you serious? Malfoy _hates_ my guts. He hates all Weasleys, period."

Abigail raised an eyebrow in disbelief at what her friend claimed. "I'm sorry if I chose to differ."

"What?" Ginny looked appalled. Abigail _never_ chose to differ from her opinion before. What changed?

Abigail leaned back against the headboard of her four-poster bed and shook her head. "I was there last Saturday, Gin. I saw _you_ and _Malfoy_ together having a helluva good time hidden from everyone's view in one of the booths at the Three Broomsticks. You were just too busy thinking about your damn APC to notice the way Malfoy was looking at you, Gin!"

Ginny frowned. What the heck was her friend on about? Malfoy was looking at her differently? What a laugh!

"No-uh," she shook her head. "Malfoy was _not_ looking at me differently, Abs."

"Fine, believe whatever you like. But I'm still betting my last sickel that Malfoy the prat _was_ looking at you rather differently," Abigail insisted.

"Whatever," Ginny muttered and opened the envelope. 
    
    _I see what he's doin' to you
    _
    
    _Then it hurts me so
    _
    
    _I wish I could steal you away
    _
    
    _But you just won't go
    _
    
    _Something's holdin' you close to him
    _
    
    _Something I can't see
    _
    
    _But come the day that you've had enough
    _
    
    _I pray you'll come running to me
    _
    
    _'Cause if you were mine
    _
    
    _You'd know how good love could be
    _
    
    _And if you were mine
    _
    
    _I'd love you eternally
    _
    
    _If you were mine
    _
    
    _You know that I want you, you know that I need you
    _
    
    _Every time I see your face
    _
    
    _But I watch you passing me by
    _
    
    _And my sky turns grey
    _
    
    _Maybe someday you're gonna see
    _
    
    _I'm the one for you
    _
    
    _'Til then I'll just have to wait
    _
    
    _For my dream to come true
    _
    
    _'Cause if you were mine
    _
    
    _You'd know how good love could be
    _
    
    _And if you were mine
    _
    
    _I'd love you eternally
    _
    
    _If you were mine
    _
    
    _My friends keep telling me to let it go
    _
    
    _But what I feel they will never know
    _
    
    _I can't stop my heart beating so strong for you
    _
    
    _But you're with him and not with me
    _
    
    _Baby it's as sad as it can be
    _
    
    _'Cause if you were mine
    _
    
    _You'd know how good love could be
    _
    
    _And if you were mine
    _
    
    _I'd love you eternally
    _
    
    _If you were mine
    _
    
    _You'd know how good love could be
    _
    
    _And if you were mine
    _
    
    _I'd love you eternally
    _
    
    _I wouldn't let you go, oh no, no
    _
    
    _If you were mine
    _
    
    _I really need you
    _
    
    _Oh, I really need you
    _
    
    _If you were mine
    _
    
    _I really need you girl
    _
    
    _If you were mine
    _
    
    _I really need you girl
    _
    
    _I really need you girl
    _
    
    _If you were mine
    _

Ginny's hands were numb after she read what must have been her APC's most sweetest, most sappiest letter to her. For some odd reason she knew it wasn't Blaise who wrote this. Whoever was this Slytherin APC of hers was serious about her or else he wouldn't have written what he wrote here.

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A/N:** Hey guys! Sorry for a very long delay in updating this story. I was stuck writing this chapter and I couldn't find the write "letter" to give to Ginny and…well, basically I just don't know _where_ to go. But now here's the chapter, I hope it's good enough for now.

**A/N 2:** BTW, our APC borrowed Boyzone's **If You Were Mine** song

**A/N 3:** I know there's going to be a _long list_ of people to thank, and I hate doing this one-shot shout-out, but under the circumstances I knew I had to. **SO THANK YOU TO ALL PATIENT READERS & REVIEWERS ALIKE OUT THERE!** Hopefully it won't take me long to upload the next chapter! *smiles*


	14. She's On To You

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her? 

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here. 

**PhoenixRae's Note:** OK, this time I'll try _not_ to take forever to upload a chapter, but we'll see. Sometimes it's the _song_ that gets me stuck. *lol* 

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**XIV. She's On To You **

"Aaargh!" Ginny exclaimed and tried pulling the hairs out of her head. She and Abby had been sitting out by the lake _watching_ every male species from all houses frolic about enjoying the last vestiges of autumn before winter sets in.

Abigail looked up from her History of Magic book and frowned at her friend.

"What are you getting ticked-off about now?" she asked.

"This _dilemma_ of mine," Ginny snarled.

Abigail raised an eyebrow. She glanced at the book her friend was reading then back at her friend's face. What the hell kind of dilemma was she talking about? They were just reading about some revolution that happened early in the 1800s for her to have _problems_ with it.

"Uh, Gin? You're just reading about a part in the history of magic," she pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Ha, ha, ha. _Very_ funny, Abs," Ginny made a face at her friend and closed her History of Magic book. "You know I wasn't talking about our reading assignment."

"You're not?" Abigail feigned innocence.

"Shut-up, Abs," Ginny set her book on the ground beside her and leaned back against one of the trees.

Abigail frowned and watched her friend carefully. Since finding out that Blaise Zabini wasn't her APC, Ginny had been _obsessed_ to learn the truth behind her romantic Romeo who hides himself behind mushy, sappy love poems.

"Look, why don't you take things easily for now?" Abigail suggested. "You're driving yourself crazy by trying to find out _who_ your APC is to actually concentrate on everything else!"

"But I can't help it, Abs!" whined Ginny. "I _need_ to quench my thirst for the truth about my APC _before_ I could concentrate on anything else!"

"Still wondering about your APC, Weasley?" snarled Draco who walked up behind the two sixth year Gryffindors with his bodyguards behind him. "I thought you already met the mystery man during our last Hogsmeade weekend?"

Ginny and Abigail both turned their heads around and glared up at the uninvited Slytherin.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" snapped Ginny.

Draco merely raised a brow at her. His upper lip curled into his trademark smirk before he crouched down behind Ginny. "So, Weaslette, had a good time with your APC that weekend?" he mocked. "How was he, by the way? Was he everything you expected him to be, hm?"

Ginny's eyes turned to tiny slits. How dare he goad her like this? What does he want anyway?

"Go away, Malfoy. I'm _studying_ here."

"Studying?" his eyebrow rose an inch higher. "Last time I checked you were too damn busy thinking about your secret admirer to concentrate on studying."

"You resorting to eavesdropping now, Malfoy?" Abigail snarled. "I can't believe _you_ would even sink that low."

Draco shot him a glare that would've sent any other person running, but Abigail returned his glare with a glare of her own. She wouldn't dare cower away just because he happened to be a Malfoy whose father was a follower of You-Know-Who. Draco Malfoy was just a person and he needed to have some reality knocked into him if he thought he could intimidate people just by _glaring_ at them.

"Stay out of this, Wilson," he warned.

"And what if I don't? What are you gonna do?" she challenged.

Draco's smirk turned to something devilishly sexy, his cool, grey eyes mirroring whatever possible torture he could think of giving her for daring to be bold. Ginny couldn't believe what just entered her mind as her gaze darted back and forth between Draco and her best friend. Sure Malfoy was one of Hogwarts' heartthrobs, but for _her_ to actually see him as _sexy?_

_Oh Merlin have mercy! What am I thinking?_ she thought to herself as she braced herself for a possible verbal war between Draco and Abigail.

"Nothing you won't be able to resist, love," Draco's voice dropped to an alarmingly husky tone, making shivers run up Ginny's spine for no apparent reason. It wasn't windy out today nor was it really cold, and yet she felt that chill that just zapped her to stillness.

"Oh really?" Abigail was pushing her luck. Ginny couldn't understand _why_ Abigail was adamant to goad Draco into doing something she knew her best friend wouldn't want him to do to _her_, and yet her she sat, exchanging glares with the notorious Hogwarts playboy and putting on her devil-may-care attitude on full-force.

"Stop it!" Ginny got up to her feet and stood between her best friend and the annoying git who couldn't keep his nose out of her business. "You two are being stupid, you know that?" She looked down at her best friend and gave her a disapproving frown, "Abs, Malfoy's eavesdropping into our conversation because he has no life. I don't know _why_ he doesn't have a life and I sure as hell don't want to know _why_ he doesn't have one. And as for you," she turned her gaze towards Malfoy who remained squatted beside her, his smirk still in place and his eyebrow still raised. "Quit sticking your nose into _my_ business. Go bug my brother and his friends since that's what you seem to like doing. Just bug me when I'm around them. Other than that, _leave-me-alone!_" she nearly yelled at him.

Ginny didn't wait for either Abigail or Draco to say something. She flicked her wand and in an instant her book closed and slid into her bag. She floated her bag towards her and after adjusting the strap on her shoulders she marched off towards the castle, leaving Abigail gaping at her for abandoning her like that.

Draco, on the other hand, couldn't help but gave the departing redhead an appreciative smile. She really got spunk. And who knew Ginny Weasley looked so damn sexy when annoyed? He only dreamt about seeing her temper flaring, and actually only saw her lose her temper in public once—when she stopped him and her brother from biting each other's heads off in the hallway. As soon as he walked away, he turned towards the corner and peered at the crowed still gathered around in the hallway. He caught a glimpse of the bickering siblings in the middle of the circle with Ginny ending up telling her brother to grow up.

"If you're admiring Ginny's curves, I suggest you better hide it, Ferret Boy. Once her brother sees you, I sure as hell wouldn't want to be around for _that_," came Abigail's fair warning closer to his ear. She already gathered her things and was now standing beside him.

Draco scowled at the sixth year and pulled himself up to his full height, towering over the mouthy Gryffindor.

"And _what_ makes you think I'm admiring that weasel's curves, hm?" he demanded.

Abigail raised an eyebrow and clucked her tongue. Her lips slowly pulled into a mischievous grin and walked off with a slight shrug of her shoulder. After talking a few steps away from Draco and his goons, she stopped and turned to face him, "Zabini said it wasn't _him_ that sent those mushy love letters to Ginny, but he did give her a hint, however, that Ginny's APC is from _your_ house. Now, I might be wrong in assuming this, but other than Zabini, _you're_ the closest thing to becoming my friend's APC. And given the way you just looked at her now…" her voice faltered and she held Draco's eyes, letting him read in them what she didn't dare say out loud. _I'll be watching you_ was what her eyes said, but out loud she called, "Have a great rest of the day, boys!"

Draco's grey eyes turned to a pair of tiny slits as he glared a hole at the back of the departing sixth year's head. She was on to him. Damn, he was he _that_ obvious?

"C'mon, Malfoy, let's get outta here," called Crabbe who was starting to get really antsy just standing there doing nothing.

"Yeah. That Wilson chick is one helluva smart lass, I tell ya," added Goyle, coming up to stand beside the leader of their small group. "She's on to you, mate. I suggest you back off before this whole thing blows off and _you_ will be put in a very uncompromising position," he warned.

"No, I won't be put in a very uncompromising position. Wilson's just bluffing." Draco squared his shoulders and jutted his chin into the air, "Now I believe I need to have a _serious_ talk with Zabini, c'mon," he motioned for his two goons to follow him and soon all four students were walking back to the castle. 

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**A/N:** Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Sorry for the short chapter. I just needed to get this out now _before_ it gets uploaded. Since I'm on my holiday from work, I'll see what I can do about updating this fic as soon as I can. 

**PhoenixRae's THANK YOU's:** (again I am going to do this as a one-shot TY instead of my usual individual one since…well, since there's too many of you to thank! *smiles*) 

_Moongirl14_, _Aidenfire_, _Crystal Snowflakes_, _Hayley Potter_, _Cactuskitty_, _d[n-n]b_, _Princess Amelia_, _Crystal Lily_, _Eminem-Chick2_, _ChoChanger_, _Crystal Magic_, _ angelic-devil11_, _Jessiebear_, _SamiJo_, _CrystalBlue_, _hasapi_ (**I'm glad I was able to figure out the _perfect_ song to use as well *lol* Actually after I looked through some of my albums and came across the song I used in the previous chap, I was instantly struck by inspiration and I knew I just have to use it for that chappie!**) _Hunter22_, _kneh13_, _Lady Laughs-A-Lot_, _Tifa_, _trinitytzen_, _La_FrEaK_22_, _fEEdLestEEx_, _Z. M. Synerus_, _LuverduveJu-ju_, _Wizzabee_, _dan fan_, _Faxton_, _KeeperOfTheMoon_, _blue_angel_, _liltrick89_, _rising-angel_, _Miss Marauder1_, _CakeTwins_, _kat_, _vans_ (**sorry if the suspense is killing ya, hehehehe, I'm trying my best to update as often as I can**), _Lia_, _Red Magic Marker_, _MelissaAdams_, _Anglachel_, _Copperstring_, _Squeaks_, _KuTiExAzNxAnGeL_,_ Hannah4Daniel_, _The Totally Sarcastic Sprite_, _avapouhi_, _Lady Godiva_, _LittleShyGirl_, _Ginny13_ (**I am hoping that I don't get any writer's block any time soon too, hehehehehe *winks***), _Wicked Witch of Slytherin_, _StarKissed1_


	15. What Kinda Game Are You Playing At?

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her? 

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here. 

**PhoenixRae's Note:** I have a feeling that for the next little while (provided I don't get any writer's block) that I'll get the next chapters out ASAP, but I won't be making any promises, hehehehehehe ^_^ 

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XV. What Kinda Game Are You Playing At?**

Finding Blaise wasn't that hard for Draco. As soon as he walked in to the castle the first person that greeted him was none other than the very person whose face he seriously wanted to rearrange right at this very moment. How dare he run interference on _his_ affairs? It was bad enough that Zabini found out he fancied Ginny, now he was playing matchmaker?

"You two run along to class. Zabini and I needs to talk," he told Crabbe and Goyle over his shoulder before breaking away from their flank to cut Zabini from crossing the Entrance Hall.

Blaise saw Draco coming towards him with that deadly scowl etched on the blond boy's handsome face. Blaise's own handsome face turned into a confused scowl as he waited for his Quidditch team's seeker approach him.

"Hey Malfoy, what's up?" he greeted.

Draco didn't bother returning the pleasantry. When he was close enough to Blaise he shoved the unsuspecting Slytherin backwards until the tall beater's back hit the wall.

"What the—? Malfoy, what's wrong with you?" Blaise demanded.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Zabini, huh?" Draco demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Blaise looked confused. He hasn't done anything to him. He just wanted to ask him about their next Quidditch practice.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Zabini. _You_ told _Ginny._"

Blaise's eyes bulged out. "I didn't tell her anything—I _swear_ I didn't!"

"Like hell you didn't," Draco spat and took a step back. "She told me that you told her it wasn't _you_ who was her admirer and that it was somebody from _our_ house who was sending her those letters. Hell, Wilson's on to me now no thanks to you."

"_What?_ I swear man, I didn't tell Ginny about _you_. So yeah, I _did_ tell her that I wasn't the guy behind those sappy love letters she had been receiving, but that's because I didn't want her to go on believing it was _me_ who was behind them! Besides, I think the girl needs a bit of help considering her supposed _admirer_ was too damn chicken to reveal himself!"

"Dammit," Draco hissed and instead of hitting Blaise's face with his fist, he decided to pocket his balled-up fists instead. He paced back and forth in front of his housemate, muttering curses under his breath. His grey eyes glaring a hole on the floor he was walking on.

"Look man, I won't apologize for what I did. I was only trying to help, and besides, I don't want to lead the poor girl on," Blaise pushed himself away from the wall and straightened his robes. "And _you_ shouldn't either," he advised before walking away from him.

* * * * *

"Alright class, today I've decided to give you all an assignment-free evening," announced Oliver to his surprised sixth year class.

Loud cheers echoed through the classroom. It was rare that a teacher gives them an assignment-free evening—especially on a _Friday_ night.

"However, before you rowdy rascals start rejoicing," continued Oliver, but he had that jovial, almost teasing tone to his voice as he eyed each overly pleased student careful, "I suspect that you all _will_ be prepared for Monday's quiz. And this isn't just any ordinary quiz like the ones I gave you before. This quiz is worth fifty percent of this term's mark."

A chorus of disgruntled groans echoed throughout the entire classroom. Oliver even heard a few "I knew there was a catch!" being muttered around. He kept a satisfied grin plastered on his face until the bell rang and each student shuffled out of the classroom one by one, wishing him a good day and him returning their greeting.

Oliver was just about ready to fixing his notes for his next—and last—class of the day when an unexpected guest dropped by his classroom. He looked up from stuffing his quill and inkbottle into his bag and his smiling dark brown eyes turned into a glare.

Draco Malfoy was standing at the doorway of his classroom.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" he wasn't at all pleased to see Draco in his classroom. The last time that happened, Malfoy asked him a _special_ kind of favour that he wasn't too happy about.

Draco clucked his tongue when he heard that surly note in his History of Magic professor's voice.

"Gee, Professor, is that any way to treat your students?" he goaded.

"Professor Snape treats _some_ of his students with the same hostility, Malfoy," Oliver replied back. "Now, to _what_ do I owe this unexpected visit of yours?" he practically snarled at the young man before him.

Draco cocked an eyebrow and gave his professor a defiant once-over. He stopped and leaned his hip against one of the back row desks and crossed his arms over his chest.

"And _what_ makes you think I want to ask you something, _Professor?_" he challenged.

Oliver's eyebrow rose. "You don't fool me, Malfoy. Either you're here to ask me what tonight's assignment was, which I wouldn't be giving you since you _should_ have paid attention in class earlier, _or_ you're here to blackmail me into doing you another favour."

"Blackmail?" echoed Draco. "Don't you think that's a bit too harsh, Professor?"

"Harsh? No, Malfoy, I don't think so. Now, my next class will be starting any minute now so you either spit out what you came here to _ask_ me or leave before I _throw_ you out of my classroom," he threatened.

"Throw me out? You can't—"

"Spit it out, Malfoy!" spat Oliver whose patience was rapidly waning. "Stop beating around the bush. You're obviously here to _blackmail_ me once again, so what the hell kind of favour do you want to ask from me again, huh?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "So you're agreeing then?" he stalled.

"Malfoy…"

"Alright, alright," Draco raised his hands as if to fend his agitated professor off. "I was just checking if you were indeed going to help me or if I have to look elsewhere for help. But I doubt I'll be able to do that since…well, since I am not really that close to _any_ of the other professors around here, you know?" he shrugged.

"You're not close to me either, Malfoy. The only reason _why_ I'm _bound_ to help you is because of that blasted piece of information you found out about me," Oliver hissed.

"Oh? You still miffed that I figured out _you_ fancy Ginny yourself, Prof?" Draco goaded.

Oliver's hands balled up to a pair of tight fists and he would've thrown a punch at his audacious student if he weren't only worried about his reputation. He was a professor now and not some student who could just easily start a fight. He should be the one _stopping_ the fights between students; he wasn't supposed to _start_ them.

"What is it you want, Malfoy? Time is ticking," he reminded his cocky student.

"Fine. I thought you'd be up for some _friendly_ chat," Draco shrugged.

"_Nothing_ is friendly with you, Malfoy. Now spit it out before I lose my temper and give _you_ detention," Oliver threatened.

Draco didn't seem fazed at the threat although he knew Oliver would be true to his words _and_ give him detention. Instead his trademark smirk appeared on his pale face at the mention of the word 'detention'.

"You know something, Professor? I wouldn't mind being given a detention by you as long as you give your _precious_ Ginny a detention to be served with me as well. Kinda like the last time you gave her detention," he said matter-of-factly.

"What?" Oliver's face paled. "Are you out of your noodles, Malfoy? I can't just give Ginny a detention without _her_ breaking any school laws or disrupting the class."

"That's the same song you sang the last time I asked you to help me out here, Wood, but look, you _managed_ to get Ginny into a detention with you—what's gonna be hard about it this time, hm?"

"Malfoy…"

"Look, I need some time alone with Ginny to _talk_, alright? And the only way I could think of _talking_ to her is if we're to serve detention together. Sure we'd be sniping at each other, but at least we're talking and…" Draco's voice faltered when he realized he was about to reveal too much. He cleared his throat and straightened up. "All I need is to serve detention with Ginny, that's all. OK?"

"No, it's _not_ okay, Malfoy. I can't—"

"Hey, I have faith in you, Woody ol' boy," Draco winked and that familiar smirk plastered on his face once again. "You can think of something to throw Ginny into _another_ detention. And as for your threat of giving _me_ detention? Well, consider it accepted wholeheartedly by yours truly. So I'll see you in your classroom tonight after dinner, hm? Sounds good. I'll see you here at eight." Draco didn't wait for Oliver to say something. He knew he already goaded his History of Magic professor too much for the other man to remain civil with him. 

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**A/N:** OK, OK, another short chapter. I'm just slowly working all the kinks out of this story so I can end, hehehehehe. But isn't Draco pushing his luck? And I hope _this_ chapter explained _why_ Oliver was in such a pissy mood when he gave Ginny her first detention with him in earlier chapters. 

**Jessiebear:** and I'm glad I updated too! *lol* 

**Miss Marauder1:** is this soon enough for ya? Hehehehe, and sorry, another short chappie 

**Hayley Potter:** no, it wasn't because you read it fast. It was just plain ol' short! *lol* 

**vanns:** I'm not sure _when_ she's going to find out, but I have a feeling that Ginny's gonna find out soon _who_ her APC is. 

**butterfly kisses3:** thank you! 

**Princess Amelia:** well I guess this update _is_ fast but as for the chapter length…the longer ones will just have to wait a while I guess… 

**Crystal Snowflakes:** I know. I can't believe it took me like a month before I updated! *lol* 

**Crystal Lily:** I didn't either! *lol* It just came out that way. Maybe underneath all those dumb exterior, Goyle really is a smart lad *winks* 

**Wicked Witch of Slytherin:** thanks! 

**KeeperOfTheMoon:** and update the story I will, hehehehehe :p 

**fEEdLestEEx:** now don't be slobering too much *lol* 

**OpalKoboi:** Ginny's being thick 'coz maybe she's in denial? And Abby's just being a typical, know-it-all-devil-may-care friend, don't you think so? Hehehehehe 

**KuTiExAzNxAnGeL:** thanks for loving the chapter. And look, an update! Hehehehehe 

**HPFreak8:** thanks 

**Amanda:** so, were you right in your guess as to _who_ the APC is? Hehehehehe 

**dan fan:** yep, Ginny might be a bit too stubborn but Abigail doesn't care. *lol* She has a gut-feeling it was Malfoy and she would do _anything_ and _everything_ to prove to Ginny that her suspicions were correct 

**Faxton:** I know. I'm starting to like Abs too. Hehehehehe, she's got backbone, mate! *winks* Thanks so much for the compliment. And I'll do my best to update as fast _and_ often as I can. 

**selene-chan:** hehehehe, sorry about that. Well, I'm trying my best to wrap things up as fast as I can without throwing anymore monkey wrenches into the mix… 

**Cactuskitty:** *lol* Is this soon enough for ya? 

**cute-crazy-chick1:** thank you so much! 

**she-who-must-not-be-named:** Yeah, I wanted to throw people off a bit by sticking Blaise there. I just had so much fun playing with peoples' mind when I did that. As for Goyle knowing such big word…I have no idea _where_ it came from! *lol* That word just came sputtering outta his mouth! 

**pickle:** thank you 

**ChubBubble:** nah, I don't think I'll make Pansy be nice to Ginny…hmm…well, we'll see! *lol* 

**moween:** a Draco cookie?? Hmm…now _that_ sounds mighty yummy! *lol* 

**Loves-Kiss:** I'm gonna try my best to update as often as I can 

**Wizzabee:** I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drive you to insanity! But don't worry, I'll try and get this story unravelled and done with a happy ending soon…I think @_@ 

**The Totally Sarcastic Sprite:** thanks! (",) 

**GothicAngel3:** I'm trying to finish this as soon as I can. And don't worry, I already know what happens in the end or _how_ it will get to the end, but that might take a while… 

**d[n-n]b:** well, I think procrastinating is good. One way or the other it _is_ good anyway, hehehehehe

**Magic Girl2:** hmm…I don't think Harry's broom will be jealous at the speed of my updating this story, hehehehehe

**Lady Laughs-A-Lot:** Well, I don't think I'll be writing any more suspense in future chapters. I'm just starting to tie up loose-ends here now so I can end this fic soon ^_~

**fishy:** yeah, it does, doesn't it? Well, we'll see if it's gonna end in the next couple of chapters or not…

**Elven Dagger:** hehehe, thanks for liking Malfoy's description. And if I made you feel giggly like a hysterical school girl, then that's awesome! *lol* I wanted to make my readers giggle at certain parts of the fic, hehehehehe

**MelissaAdams:** I don't think Blaise is gonna run. He ain't no chicken, hehehehehe

**StarKissed1:** here's what happened next. And I think one question from previous chapters was answered here: WHY WAS OLIVER PISSED-OFF WHEN HE GAVE GINNY A DETENTION.

**Pudding Speck:** Yeah, Ginny's in the denial stage right now…well, yeah, I think she doesn't want to admit that if it wasn't Blaise who was behind the letters, then she'd have to pick one of the _worse_ (according to her) member of Slytherin for her APC…

**Red Magic Marker:** Hehehehe, yeah, that she will…

**JemG:** you want more? Here's…well, here's one more *grins*

**Dark Gypsy:** right now I don't think I am going to be suffering from any writer's block. I might be delayed a few days (or weeks even), but that ain't because I have writer's block but because I am gonna be busy working…

**Aidenfire:** Abs is a helluva smart lass, isn't she? Hehehehehe

**CrystalBlue:** I'll do my best to keep on writing ^_~

**Moon Goddess4:** ya know what? I'm wishing for them to have _another_ snog-fest…hmm…I think another snog-fest can be arranged, hehehehehe *winks*

**toastsnatcher:** I like reading secret-admirer stories too. They're so…oh, I dunno, they're just awesome reads sometimes, hehehehehe

**kat:** here's the next one right now. ^_^


	16. You!

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Note:** I figured since I'm on holidays this week, I might as well upload as much chapters as I can, right? Good. So here's me _attempting_ to upload yet another chapter before the week is over. So sit back & enjoy the chapter...

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XVI. You!**

"Rotten luck, Ginny. Professor Wood gave you _another_ detention simply for not answering his question right away," Abigail shook her head as they made their way to the Great Hall for dinner. "What's up with him anyway? If you ask me, I think he needs to get laid."

"_Abby!_" Ginny looked scandalized. "Watch your mouth," she scolded.

"The hell I will! Oliver's being unreasonable, Gin. And the only reason I could think of is him not getting some that's why he's taking it out on _you._" She marched into the busy Great Hall and headed straight towards their table with Ginny following close behind.

"Look, maybe Oliver's just having a rotten day. Everyone has them," she reasoned out as she sat down between a very irate Abigail and a frowning Hermione.

"I heard you got _another_ detention from Oliver, Ginny. What's up with that?" Hermione asked as soon as her friend sat down.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," answered Abigail on Ginny's behalf. "I mean, Ginny didn't even break any damn rules, Herm. All she did was take more than two seconds to answer Oliver's question in class and _boom!_" Abigail clapped her hands together for emphasis, "Ginny got herself a detention."

"But that's preposterous!" cried Hermione. "Surely you can't be given detention for not being able to answer a question in under two seconds!" she complained.

"I know. Why do you think _I'm_ pissed?" Abigail huffed.

"And you guys think _I'm_ not?" Ginny asked sounding displeased that her two friends were talking over her head about something that _she_ should be fuming mad about, not them, but _her_, Ginny Weasley.

Both Hermione and Abigail stopped yakking about how unfair Oliver was to Ginny and looked at their friend who was caught in the middle of their conversation.

"Oh, sorry Gin, didn't mean to step all over ya," Abigail apologized. "I was just overzealous of the fact that Oliver gave you _another_ detention and this time you weren't even doing anything wrong," she added.

"And you think she was doing something wrong the _first time_ Oliver gave her detention?" questioned Hermione.

"Well, she was kinda _not_ paying attention that time," Abigial admitted albeit begrudgingly. "But this time Ginny was paying attention and--"

"Look, why don't you two _stop_ this argument right now, alright?" Ginny held up her hand to stop both of her friends from further discussing her. She hated it when people talked about her as if she wasn't even in the room, let alone sitting right in between them. "Let's just chalk it up to Oliver having a bad day and leave it at that, alright?"

"Why do you have to always be so damn nice, Gin?" Abigail groaned.

Ginny made a face at her friend. "I am not always nice, Abs," she argued.

"I'm afraid you _are_ always nice, Gin," Hermione had to agree with Abigail. "It's not that you being nice isn't good, it's just that...well, being too nice all the time will often result in people _using_ you or getting away hurting you or something."

"Look, so yeah, I _am_ nice all the time, but c'mon guys. It's just another detention, big deal. As long as I know I didn't do anything wrong, there's nothing to it. Oliver's just in a rotten mood and I was the unfortunate one to be picked on in class so I'm serving detention with him after dinner tonight. _End_ of discussion." She looked from one friend to the other, willing them with her gaze to _not_ argue with her anymore. She wasn't in the mood to further discuss _why_ Oliver decided to give her detention again tonight, and she certainly didn't want to go to detention with an empty stomach.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"_You!_" Ginny's brown eyes nearly bulged out of her sockets when she saw _who_ she was serving detention with...again. "You have _got_ to be kidding me!" she groaned out loud.

"And hello to you too, Weasley," retorted Draco who was lounging on one of the desks in front of their History of Magic classroom. "My, my, what a pleasant surprise. You got into another detention with Wood again?" he drawled.

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. _Oh great, I have to serve detention with Mr. Draco "I'm-too-good-to-do-some-filing" Malfoy again. Can I just jump into the lake now and become that large squid's meal for the night?_

"Did you get too smart for your own good again, Malfoy, is that why you're in detention again, hm?" she retorted acidly. _Oh Merlin give me strength. This guy is going to be the death of me! Why can't he just leave me alone?_

"My, my, you sure are growing a backbone every day, Weaslette. You sure you're not getting it from your brothers and Potter?" he mocked.

"No. And please, do me a favour and stay out of my way all night, alright?"

"I can't promise you that, Weaslette," he shrugged. "What if Wood decided to put us to work _together_, then I wouldn't be able to stay out of your way all night."

Oooh, he just makes her blood boil! Why can't she serve detention with Oliver _without_ Draco Malfoy for a change? It was bad enough she had to endure him during the day in between classes when she was unfortunate enough to bump into him, now she had to spend Merlin knows how many hours in detention with the slimy git.

It was a good thing Oliver walked in right then before Ginny decided to acquaint Malfoy with her fist. She couldn't stand the git. And yet she was hesitant to punch the living daylights out of him either. _Bloody hell, stop being soft on Malfoy, Ginny! He's nothing but a pain in the you-know-where,_ an inner voice reminded her.

"I see that you two are _eager_ to start your detention this evening," said Oliver as he walked to the front of the room. "Malfoy, if you would be so kind enough as to take your feet off the table I'd really appreciate it," he called over to Draco over his shoulder as he walked past the Slytherin seventh year.

"Why should I? I'm not messing the table up. And the house elves will--"

"Just do as he says, Malfoy," snapped Ginny.

Draco raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze at Ginny, "And who are _you_ to tell me that, huh, weasel?"

"Ten points from Slytherin for disobeying orders," said Oliver before Ginny could answer Draco back. "Now _Mr._ Malfoy, do as I say or I'll have to add another ten to make it a nice twenty points off your house," he threatened.

Ginny could tell that Draco wasn't at all pleased with losing ten points for not following orders. He was muttering something under his breath as he angrily put his feet back on the floor and slouched in his seat. She looked over at Oliver and noted a satisfied grin cover his face. Something fishy was going on. Oliver and Draco were at each other's throats right now, but she just doesn't know _why_ they would be ready to kill each other.

"Now, Ginny, _what_ do you think would be _the_ perfect punishment for Mr. Malfoy this evening, hm?" Oliver asked, surprising both students who turned and looked at him wide-eyed.

"What?" Ginny thought her ears were deceiving her. Did Oliver just ask her what kind of punishment to give Malfoy? Oh Merlin, she must've died and gone to heaven! "Are you serious?" she asked the same time Draco exclaimed, "You've got to be kidding me!"

With a satisfied grin, Oliver turned to Ginny and said, "Yes, I am." And to Draco his grin broaden, "And no, I am _not_ kidding, Malfoy."

"Damn you, Wood," hissed Draco under her breath while Ginny couldn't help herself from smiling from ear to ear.

"So I can think of _any_ punishment I want, and you'd be alright with it?" Ginny wanted to confirm with Oliver that anything goes when she decided what kind of punishment to give Draco.

"The sky is the limit, Ginny," Oliver winked.

Draco growled under his breath while Ginny couldn't suppress a giggle.

"This should be fun," she murmured and looked at the displeased blond sitting on one of the front row chairs. "Malfoy, tonight you will wish you _never_ had to serve detention with me _or_ with Oliver," she told him haughtily.

"Oh, I'm already there, Weasley, I'm already there," Draco answered and shot Oliver an I'm-going-to-get-you-for-this glare.

"Well Ginny? What's the verdict?" Oliver asked expectantly, that annoying satisfied grin still plastered on his handsome face.

"Professor, I think your classroom needs a bit of cleaning. The floors are horrible and the desks and chairs aren't shiny." Ginny spun around and faced Oliver, a mischievous gleam shining from her brown eyes. "I say we let Malfoy here give your classroom a good cleaning _without_ the aid of magic, but instead he will need a bucket filled with soapy water and a toothbrush," she announced proudly.

"A _what?!_" Draco nearly fell off his chair when he heard what he had to use to clean the floors, desks, and chairs of Oliver's classroom. "Are you out of your blasted mind, weasel?" he barked.

"As a matter of fact, no," she shook her head and with the help of her wand she conjured up a bucket of soapy water and a nice, small toothbrush by Draco's foot. "I haven't lost my mind yet. Now if I were you, I'd start cleaning now if you wanna be finished by midnight," she winked and started giggling.

"No way!" Draco argued and got up to his feet. He turned to Oliver to plead his case, but Oliver merely shrugged his shoulders and nodded towards the bucket and toothbrush at Draco's feet.

"_She_ gave you your punishment, Malfoy, and I did give her permission that _anything_ goes."

Right at that very moment Draco was thinking of a million and one things he would do to Oliver once he was done serving detention. How dare he turn the tables on him like this? Damn that slimy git for outmaneuvering him. He should've seen this coming, but damn that Wood. He pulled a fast one on him.

"What about me, Professor? What's my punishment for this evening?" Ginny asked.

"Well we want to be sure that Mr. Malfoy does a fine good job of cleaning my classroom, don't we, Ms. Weasley? I say _you_ watch and make sure that he doesn't miss a spot."

"_What?_" Draco's jaw nearly dropped on the floor. "_You're_ giving her an easy punishment?" He jabbed his index finger at Ginny's direction, his gray eyes shooting daggers at his History of Magic teacher.

"Hey, who says watching over _you_ is an easy job, huh?" challenged Ginny. "Now I say move it, mate, 'coz time's a-ticking," she made a tick-tocking sound and gave Draco a pointed look. God, this was one detention she knew she'd be savoring for the rest of her life. For once in her life she was able to boss Draco Malfoy around. Oooohh, this oughta be good.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Draco was busy brushing a spot underneath the desk Ginny was sitting on three and a half hours later when Ginny's high-pitched "_Malfoy!_" distracted him and in his haste to see what the heck she wanted now, he bumped his head under the table.

"What?" he snarled, rubbing the spot he hit under the table. He emerged from under the table he was cleaning and glared at the red-haired vixen seated on top of the desk that just injured him.

"You missed a spot," she said simply.

"Oh really? And _where_ is that spot?"

"Oh, just three inches to your left," she shrugged.

At that very moment Draco saw red. This woman was testing him. Not to mention that Wood was having the time of his life _laughing_ at him because he was able to outwit him this time. _That SOB's going to pay. I swear to God he _will_ pay,_ Draco thought savagely.

"You made me hit my head under the table just to tell me that I missed a spot?" he sounded incredulous.

"Yeah-huh," she nodded, her brown eyes wide and filled with innocence.

Draco didn't know whether to smack her or kiss her at that moment. She looked so damn tempting enough to kiss and yet he was itching to wrap his hands around her pretty little neck and strangle her for giving him a helluva punishment!

"Now go on, clean it. You're almost done the floors and you still have the desks and chairs to do. Now hurry. _Hurry!_" She did a chop-chop clap and turned around so her legs were dangling on the side of the desk.

"Hurry- hurry my little arse," Draco mumbled to himself and resumed scrubbing the floor with the toothbrush. Ginny's dangling legs on the other side of the desk was distracting him from doing his job properly. "Will you quit doing that?" he snapped.

Ginny parted her legs and bent down, peering at Draco from between her legs.

"Quit doing what?" she asked innocently.

Draco glared at her. "You know what you're doing, Weaslette, so quit it!"

Ginny raised an eyebrow. She gave him an innocent smile and continued dangling her legs, distracting _and_ annoying Draco who was doing his best to ignore her. She knew what she was doing to him and she was doing it to him deliberately. She didn't know _why_ she was itching to annoy Malfoy, but since she had been in a funk the last few days trying to figure out _who_ her damn APC was, she might as well annoy somebody else for a change.

"Weasley..." he growled.

"Whaaaa-at?" she sing-songed.

Draco grabbed Ginny's right leg to stop her from moving it.

"I said _stop_ moving your damn legs, weasel," he hissed.

"_Aw!_ Malfoy, get your filthy ferret-paw off my leg. You're hurting me _and_ your hand's dirty from scrubbing the floor and dipping it into that icky bucket," she started wriggling his hand off her leg, but Draco wouldn't let go of her. "_Malfoy..._" she growled.

"I'll let go of your damn leg _if_ you promise to stop moving it. I don't want you swinging this leg of yours over to me and knock me unconscious," he grumbled. "But on second thought, just knock me unconscious so I won't have to do this stupid punishment."

Ginny jumped off the desk and squatted in front of him, one hand resting on the tabletop while her other arm was resting on her knee. She poked her head underneath the desk Draco was cleaning and frowned, "Now _why_ would I make this detention any easier for you, hm?"

Draco moved his head closer to her until their noses were just an inch away from each other. "You should, Weaslette, 'coz you know I could make _your_ life a living hell for pulling this shitty stunt on me this evening," he threatened.

"_I_ pulled this shitty stunt this evening?" echoed Ginny, her brown eyes wide from disbelief. "In case you've suddenly acquired a case of amnesia, it was _Oliver_ who decided that _I_ give you your punishment this evening. So the blame doesn't fall entirely to me."

"Still. If it hadn't been for _you_ bewitching the socks off Wood, _you'd_ also be doing what _I'm_ doing right now."

"You think so?" Ginny raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Somehow I don't think Oliver would be able to sentence me to doing something as _tough_ as what I sentenced you to do." Her grin was as wide as the Cheshire cat, and all Draco could think of doing right at that very moment was to pull her face forward and give her a good snogging. "And besides," she added, "making sure that _you_ do your job isn't an easy task to do." She paused for a couple of heartbeats then wrinkled her nose, "You're not very good at making things look spic-and-span."

"Are you saying that I am _not_ good at what I'm doing right now?" Draco took the bait and challenged his ability to do some manual labour _without_ any magical aide.

"Well, you missed a spot--you don't have the proper _eye_ for spotting every nook and cranny." Ginny wrinkled her nose and shrugged.

"Oh really?" Draco moved his head a fraction of an inch closer to her face. He could almost see her iris clearly.

Ginny held her breath. She knew she was playing with fire by _flirting_ with Malfoy, but under the circumstances, flirting seems to be the only thing she could do to get him to get to work. But given this uncomfortable distance between them, she couldn't help but notice certain things she wouldn't normally notice when she looked Draco Malfoy in the face.

First of all he had the nicest shade of gray eyes she had ever seen. Right now they looked like a mellow pool of melted silver. And his hair...it wasn't as platinum blond as she initially thought it was. And instead of its usual slicked-back style, tonight Draco's hair had that wet-look style to it. And that scent...damn, he smelled so good and so damn familiar! Ginny took a quick sniff and sucked in her breath when she realized _whom_ she smelt it on.

Her damn APC was wearing the same cologne that night when he 'kidnapped' her and snogged her senseless on her way back to Gryffindor tower from her last detention with Oliver.

Suddenly the small wheels inside Ginny's head started turning. She was trying to piece together every little detail she knew about her APC. First on her list to tick off was that Blaise _wasn't_ her APC--he said it so himself. Secondly she knew that whomever her APC was, he resides in Slytherin house. Thirdly...well, thirdly he writes the sappiest, most romantic letters she had ever read. Fourth...well, fourth was this cologne that Draco was wearing right now. But whomever her APC was, he can't be Draco Malfoy. For starters Draco doesn't strike Ginny as the romantic-sappy type of guy. He was more of a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am kinda fella.

Draco could feel his hands sweating. He was so close to Ginny that he could inhale her scent. Damn, he was so close that he could actually feel her lips pressed against his. It had been ages since he last tasted to sweet, succulent petals of sin that he couldn't seem to get out of his mind.

Ginny didn't know what it was, but something was pulling her closer and closer to the person in front of her. It was crazy, and at the same time it was pretty exciting. Who would've thought she'd be too damned excited to snog Draco Malfoy? Not that snogging one of Hogwarts' resident player wasn't exciting. Hell, she must've dreamt of doing something as outrageous as this one since she got rid of her silly girlish crush on Harry Potter a couple of years back.

"So Weasley," Draco whispered.

"So Malfoy," Ginny whispered back.

Their heads were moving closer and closer by the millisecond. Neither of them breathed and anticipated the coming together of their lips that seemed to be attracted to one another. Slower than the sloth their heads moved closer and closer and...

"_Ginny! Malfoy!_" called Oliver as soon as he returned back to his classroom from visiting the johns. "Where are you two?"

At the sound of Oliver's calling Draco and Ginny sprung apart, bumping their head under the table.

"_Ow!_" they yelped in unison and emerged from under the table both rubbing their heads.

Oliver spotted them right away and frowned at them.

"What are you two doing? Necking under the table?" he spat then turned his glare at Draco whose head nearly bore a hole from the intensity of Oliver's glare.

"No!" came Ginny's frantic reply as her face quickly turned a deep, crimson colour.

Draco raised an eyebrow and glanced at the embarrassed Gryffindor sixth year beside him then looked back at his fuming Professor. Draco knew Wood wasn't dense. Ginny's guilty blushing alerted Oliver that something _was_ going on under the table.

"I guess subtlety wasn't a Weasley trait," mocked Draco.

"Why you..." Ginny turned and hit him hard on the arm. "_Nothing_ happened under the damn table, Malfoy, and you know it!"

"Oh really?" Draco taunted.

"Malfoy..." Ginny hissed, her arm raised and ready to strike him again. But Oliver stepped in then and decided that enough was enough between these two. Malfoy already had his detention with Ginny and really, there wasn't any point in letting her stay. Malfoy, on the other hand, will have to stay _and_ finish off his punishment.

"Ginny, you may go back to your dormitory now. You're detention's over," he told the sixth year redhead, then to Malfoy he announced, "Malfoy, finish cleaning off the floor with the toothbrush then you may go." Oliver took a quick survey of his classroom and smirked. Malfoy only managed to clean _half_ of the classroom, he was pretty sure they'd both be in the History of Magic classroom until after midnight.

"_Finally!_" Ginny sounded relieved. Turning to Draco she gave him an unsympathetic smirk and shook her head, "Too bad for you, Malfoy. You gotta finish cleaning the room. Just make sure it's spic-and-span," she taunted then headed out of the room.

Draco waited until Ginny was clearly out of earshot before throwing the toothbrush on the floor and walked up to Oliver.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Wood?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow, "I don't know what you're talking about, Malfoy. And that's _Professor_ Wood to you," he corrected just to annoy his student a bit more.

"Whatever. Look, I _asked_ you to give Ginny detention so that I could _talk_ to her, not for _you_ to suddenly grow a brain and get even with me!"

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, Malfoy. I am itching to take off _more_ points from Slytherin. And you _didn't_ ask, Malfoy, you _demanded._ Now why you're willing to go through such extremes I have no idea. You like Ginny, right? Then why don't you tell her instead?"

"Are you crazy? How can I tell the girl whose brothers I've tormented and teased throughout my entire time here at Hogwarts, not to mention that the said _girl_ was also the butt of most of my tormenting, that I like her and not have her slap me in the face, huh?"

"That's something _you_ have to figure out," Oliver said. "Now get back to work. Finish off cleaning the floor then you may go." Oliver turned his back to Draco and walked towards his desk.

Unbeknownst to the two male in the room, Ginny didn't wander off too far. She was hidden in the shadow by the door and heard every word exchanged between Oliver and Malfoy. She couldn't believe that _Malfoy_ manipulated Oliver into getting her into detention.

And another shocker. Draco Malfoy _was_ her APC.

Her fingers curled into a tight fist at her sides. He didn't know whether to punch the git or kiss him. But right now she was favouring the former rather than the latter. That jerk knew all along about her APC and yet...and yet he continued toying around with her. And that time at Hogsmeade when they shared a booth at the Three Broomstick. He could've told her right there and then, but he chose to play it cool and instead...oh! She was so pissed off at him her whole body was shaking from anger.

Ginny angrily stalked away from her History of Magic classroom contemplating on _how_ to make Malfoy pay for what he did. So what if he liked her? She could've liked him with warts and all, but he had to resent to something as...as...okay, she had to admit, it was sweet and romantic, but then it borders closer to obsession and stalking that really scared the bejeepers outta her.

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**A/N:** Hmm...yay! Ginny finally finds out the identity of her mystery man. Now she's pissed and...well, we'll see what happens next. *lol* And...uhm...this turned out to be a bit longer than the previous chapters. *grins*

**PhoenixRae's Shout-Outs:**

_Hayley Potter, Princess Punky, Crystal Lily, d[n-n]b, Loard Becca, JemG, vanns, DiagonAlley, cute-crazy-chick1, The Totally Sarcastic Sprite, Dreaming One, MelissaAdams, Snowy-Owl-213, moween, pickle, Faxton, Eminem-Chick2, Aidenfire, Crystal Snowflakes, Dark Gypsy, birtyb03, Wizzabee, Miss Marauder1, Lady Laughs-A-Lot, blackbow, jennifer, TalleyAnne, fEEdLestEEx, tay, luckyducky6289, Lia_ (**now don't be pissed-off with Oliver in the previous chapter. Uhm...I think he got even with Malfoy in _this_ chapter**)_, Lady Greenleaf2, Magic Girl2, Andrea, digidestined, tootie frootie, Cactuskitty, killtheposeurs, Ginny13, Sabra, Elven Dagger, hasapi_(**wow...that has to be the longest review/critique you've left yet! *lol* thanks! and yeah, as soon as you pointed it out to me, I realized that _that's_ what he's turning to be like. so I'll try and veer him away from that sort of persona. *grins***)_, fishy _(**ya know what? you are probably right. I feel like it's coming to an end soon as well**)_, Short Cake1, Copperstring, Olivers-quidditch-queen, Remus'sHunni_ (**hey, I like your nick, ^_~**)_, Mrs. Wood-Felton, Jessiebear, CakeTwins, blackdragonofdeath13_


	17. Game Over, Malfoy

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Note:** OMG!!! I am so, so, _soooo_ sorry for not updating soon enough. I didn't mean to wait this long, but damn this writer's block AND all the other things that happened in-between. But now I am back and...well, hopefully I'll be able to work on this FULL-TIME.

*****RE-UPLOADED CHAPTER. CORRECTIONS MADE.*****

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XVII. ****Game Over, Malfoy**

If looks could kill Draco Malfoy would be a walking ghost by now. Ginny, with her piercing dark brown eyes focused solely on the slicked-haired Slytherin, was still fuming from what she found out the night before. The gall of that boy to play a stupid trick on her! Abby couldn't figure out why her friend was in a pissy mood. Hermione wasn't sure if she'd dare ask Ginny the simplest question. And Draco Malfoy was oblivious of the seething hatred emanating from Ginny right at that very moment.

All throughout breakfast Ginny glared at the Slytherin table. Whenever she caught Draco Malfoy laughing, she'd snarl. Whenever their eyes briefly lock across the crowded Great Hall, she'd give him bone chilling piercing glare. Ginny wasn't hiding her anger towards the Slytherin. Now more than ever she wanted to bash his head against one of the castle's hard walls until...until...well, she doesn't quite know yet what she'd want to do to Draco Malfoy's head once she got her hands around his neck. But she knew for a fact that he'd be beaten to a pulp. Or she'd just hex him to oblivion for all she cared!

Their morning classes flew by smoothly. Thankfully hers and Draco's path didn't cross. She, however, crossed paths with Blaise and out of sheer cordiality she inclined her head in greeting towards him. She passed by Oliver too on her way to the Great Hall for lunch, but she was too miffed at him for letting Draco use _him_ to pull off this wild scheme of his to be cordial to her former housemate and History of Magic professor.

Ginny thought her morning was going to be Draco-free, but just as she turned the corner towards the Great Hall, she was on a course-collision with none other than the damn prick himself and Blaise. She gnashed her teeth and tried so hard not to reach out and clamp her hands around Draco's neck as she passed them by, but such opportunities were hard to let slip by.

Taking Draco by surprise, Ginny reached out her hand hand clamped it around his arm (she decided at the last minute to let him live after all) and without saying a word dragged him away from Blaise and Abby. She continued walking until they reached a dark, quiet nook just off the main hallway. Draco was about to make a protest but Ginny silenced him with a kiss.

Draco stiffened at the touch of Ginny's lips on his. He didn't know whether he was dreaming or if this was indeed reality. But Ginny's soft lips and warm breath against his face was enough proof to tell him that this wasn't a dream. Ginny Weasley actually dragged him to a dark corner of the castle to snog with him! How...unlikely.

Draco clamped his hands on Ginny's upper arms, intending to push her away, but Ginny must've known what he intended to do and instead she deepened the kiss, snaking her tongue into his mouth, making Draco suck in a great big, deep breath at the redhead's boldness. Her hands splayed wide against his chest, her fingers curling at the lapel of his robes, pulling him closer, urging him to return her kiss for kiss. And Draco was only a young man with needs. And right at that very moment he needed her. He needed Ginny like he needed to breathe. He didn't want to question why she was doing what she was doing now, only that she was doing it and not pushing him away.

Draco's started to rub his hands on her arms. Slowly. Gently. His tongue darted out and mated with hers. Each doing a swordfight against each other. He let one hand travel down the side of her, stopping right by her breast, his thumb underneath the ample-sized globe. His other hand tightened around her arm once more and pushed her closer, the proof of his arousal pressing against her stomach as Ginny kept up with their tongue's sword fighting. He sidestepped around her and was about to push her up against the wall, but Ginny pulled her mouth away, her hands gripping his robes' lapel slackened and Draco soon found himself pressed against the cold castle wall.

"Ginny--"

"Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House," she said under her breath, her brown eyes turned icy cold. "Did you honestly think you'd be able to keep your identity hidden from me, hm?" Ginny didn't bother waiting to hear what he had to say. She left him standing there, pushed up against the wall, high and dry, with his mouth hanging open as the meaning of what she said sunk in to the core of his brain.

Ginny returned back to where she left her best friend and Blaise, her lips pulled into a huge grin. She looked over her shoulder once and saw Draco stumbling back to join them with a shocked look on his pale face. Turning to look at Blaise, Ginny raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"I guess the APC's now unmasked, Zabini," she said haughtily and walked away with her chin thrust high in the air.

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**A/N:** Sorry for the short chapter. I'll try and get the next one out ASAP. Hope you liked it. Now Draco knows that Ginny knows. What's gonna happen next?

**A/N2:** To all those avid and loyal readers, I am so very thankful to all of you! I am so, so, so sorry for the long delay. But here's the update. There are too many of you to thank, but ya'll know who you are. And **Maria** (aka _tigereyes320_), thanks for doing some brainstorming with me and pestering me to continue on with this fic. I included one of the many suggestions you made in this chapter. What do you think? hehehehe (",)


	18. Shut Up, Zabini!

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Note:** OMG!!! I am so, so, _soooo_ sorry for not updating soon enough. I didn't mean to wait this long, but damn this writer's block AND all the other things that happened in-between. But now I am back and...well, hopefully I'll be able to work on this FULL-TIME.

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XVIII. Shut-Up, Zabini!**

Damn, damn, damn, and double damn! Draco paced relentlessly back and forth inside the seventh year boy's dorm room. How did she find out? She wasn't supposed to find out. Not yet anyway. He wasn't ready yet. Damn that Wood for not keeping his yap closed.

"Well Malfoy, seems like your cover's been blown," Blaise announced when he entered their dorm room. "Can't believe you'd slip like that. I was about to bow down to your expertise in manipulating the situation then she pulled a fast one on you." He shook his head in disappointment, "Merlin, don't you just hate it when something so good goes to waste?"

"Shut up, Zabini!" Draco snapped.

"Why? It's not _me_ who screwed-up."

"I said SHUT-UP!" Draco yelled louder this time.

Blaise didn't look the least bit put-off by Draco's temper. He knew the blond Slytherin had been seething since his lunch hour encounter with Ginny earlier. He was as lost as his housemate was on how Ginny found out the truth, but somewhere deep down he was impressed at the young Gryffindor's tenacity.

"Why should I? _You're_ the one who's in deep shit here, not me," Blaise teased.

"Go away, Zabini. I need to think."

"You've been thinking all day, Malfoy. Why don't you just give up and instead of doing that clichéd secret admirer thing, why don't you just go after Ginny the _normal_ way. And by normal I mean you going up to her and _asking_ her out. Maybe check out Hogsmeade together on our next outing to town," Blaise suggested. "You don't necessarily have to hide behind those mushy, sappy love letters you kept on showering her."

"I wasn't hiding behind those!" He denied.

"Yeah, right. If you weren't hiding behind those letters, then would you mind telling me _why_ the letters you sent were unsigned, hm?"

"Because..."

"Because?" Blaise waited for his roommate's explanation. "C'mon Malfoy, I'm all ears here. _Why_ didn't you sign those letters you sent to her, huh?"

"Oh just shut it." Draco turned his back to Blaise and flopped facedown on his bed. Using his wand, he closed the curtains around his bed and remained hidden from the rest of his roommates for the rest of the night.

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Ginny was alone in the library doing some research when the last person on earth she expected to come up to approached her. She kept her head bent on the book she was reading, her hand gripping her quill flying across the parchment she was writing on. She needed to submit a two-page report for her Potions class and the last thing she needed was to be disturbed.

"Look Abs, if you came here to tell me to hurry up, my answer will be the same as five minutes ago," she told her intruder without lifting her head from the book she was copying notes from.

"Sorry. I wasn't here when you told Wilson that. Would you mind repeating it again?" Draco's voice replied nonchalantly.

Ginny's hand stopped mid-stroke. She slowly lifted her head from the book, her brown eyes clashing with Draco's steel gray ones.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" She snapped.

"As far as I know the library is for everyone's use. I just happened to pass by and saw you sitting here surrounded by a pile of books." He eyed the array of books on the table and smirked. "You campaigning to become Granger the second, Weasley?" he mocked.

Ginny ignored his final remark and gave him a chilling, "So?"

"So?" Draco echoed.

"Yeah. So what if I'm surrounded by books? In case you suddenly became blind, I am_ studying _here. It's something I highly doubt you know how to do."

"Actually Weasley, that's where you're wrong. I am at the top of all my classes. Granger and I are neck-to-neck in all our classes _and_ I am running for class valedictorian. However, when I saw you sitting here surrounded by these books I thought to myself, 'Gee, Weasley looks like she's gonna be swallowed up whole by those books she used to built a fort to herself on the table, might as well go there and grace her with my presence.' And here I am," he told her smugly.

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Okay, now that you _graced_ me with your presence, would you mind slithering away again, hm? I have a report to finish and tons of books to read. I need some peace and quiet."

"Oh, alright," Draco shrugged and pulled the chair across from Ginny and sat down. "What's your report for?" he asked.

Ginny stared at him dumbfounded. Didn't she just tell him to leave her alone? What part of it didn't he understand?

"Why aren't you leaving me alone?" she questioned, closing the book she was reading.

Draco merely shrugged and without giving her any warning, snatched the book from her hand and flipped open the page where she slipped her report. "Hmm," he mused as he read what she had written so far. His lips were pouting, his gray eyes reading the notes and the passages from the book, nodding his head from time to time as if what she wrote down made sense. Two seconds later he lifted his head up from the book and grinned at Ginny, "Would you mind if I borrow your quill and another sheet of parchment?" He didn't wait for her to say yes or no. He took the quill in her hand and grabbed another sheet of parchment from her stack. He proceeded jotting down notes, oblivious to Ginny's piercing glare across the table from him.

Abby stopped dead on her tracks at the end of the aisle where the table Ginny claimed for herself in the library was located. The books she was carrying fell from her suddenly lifeless arms and would've made a racket inside the quiet library if it hadn't been for Blaise who appeared right then and caught her books.

"Gee, Wilson, next time just carry enough books that your arms can handle," he mocked.

Abby frowned and glared at the Slytherin seventh year standing beside her. "Shut up, Zabini," she scolded.

"You know, I am starting to get sick and tired of that phrase being thrown back to my face. Malfoy's been telling me to do just that since last night," he complained.

Abby rolled her eyes and grabbed her books from his outstretched hands. "Oh, just _shut-up_ Zabini," she repeated and headed towards Ginny and Draco. Blaise followed her lead and stopped her mid-stride when he saw who was sharing a table together. Abby was annoyed at being yanked back mid-stride and was about to berate at Blaise, but he was too quick to place his index finger against her lips to shut her yabbering and pulled her out of sight from the two occupants of the table.

"Just what in hell's blazes do you think you're doing?" Abby hissed, her eyes shooting daggers at the handsome seventh year.

Blaise kept his gaze averted from the annoyed Gryffindor and locked on Draco and Ginny at the table. He couldn't help the grin from spreading on his face as he watched those two talk. Well, they weren't exactly talking, but at least they looked _civilized_ enough to be at the same table without biting each other's heads off.

"Well I'll be damned," he hissed under his breath.

Abby frowned. "Eh?"

Blaise ignored her and continued watching the two at the table. He pushed some books aside and peeked at Draco and Ginny through there. Draco looked like he was busy _tutoring_ Ginny on something, and Blaise couldn't have been more proud. At least Malfoy was listening to his suggestions--for once!

"What the hell is going on, Zabini?" Abby demanded.

Blaise just shushed her without breaking eye contact at Draco and Ginny.

"Ah hell, I've had it with you!" Abby straightened up and was about to walk out of their hiding place, but Blaise's hand shot out from his side and grabbed Abby's wrist, yanking the sixth year back against him.

"Just _ stay put_, Wilson, and let Malfoy and Ginny have some quiet time alone," he hissed at her.

Abby grinned up at him and pushed herself away from him. "As if Ginny'd let that bloody git, Malfoy, enjoy _her_ company. After that stunt your housemate pulled, I'd be happy to see him hexed to eternity!"

"My, my, aren't we a bit over dramatic here, hm?" Blaised teased, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Whatever. I'm going to rescue Ginny from the dirty clutches of your fellow Slytherin." She rolled her eyes at him and turned around, but like the first couple of times that she walked away from him, Blaise didn't give her the chance.

His hand shot out too quickly and locked around her wrist once more, pulling her hard against the wall of his chest. Abby's head was thrown back by the force of the impact. She opened her mouth to berate him, but Blaise didn't give her the chance. He swooped his head down and captured those tantalizingly sweet, succulent lips that had been tempting him since he walked up to her. Abby, apparently, was frozen in place. She didn't know what just happened. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at Blaise Zabini's face _thisclose_ to hers.

He was kissing her.

Blaise Zabini was kissing Abigail Wilson! A Slytherin and a Gryffindor locked in a passionate kiss right where the entire school could see them! And oddly enough, Abby didn't seem to care. Her arms moved on their own accord, raising them up and wrapping them around Blaise's neck. Abby stepped closer into the circle of his arms that wrapped possessively around her slim waist. Tilting her head to the side, Abby's mouth opened at the insistent prodding of Blaise's tongue.

Oh this was pure heaven! All thoughts of rescuing Ginny from Draco Malfoy flew out the library window as soon as Blaise deepened his kiss, his tongue slipping past her soft lips to mate with her eager tongue. She also forgot where they were as soon as she opened up to Blaise. But like all good things, someone just had to ruin it.

"_Abigail Wilson!_" Hermione's screamed her housemate's name when she turned into the aisle where Blaise and Abby hid themselves from Draco and Ginny.

Abby and Blaise sprung away from each other as if they were just zapped apart by a high volt of energy. A deep crimson colour crept up Abby's neck and exploded all over her face. Blaise was having a hard time looking nonchalant while trying to hide Abby's effect on him from Hermione. Chair legs scraped against the floor as each student loitering about in the library tried to find out what Hermione saw.

"Thanks, Mione. But do you honestly have to scream my name out loud like that?" Abby hissed through gritted teeth, inching her way away from Blaise and stood right beside her fellow housemate.

"I'm sorry, but the last thing I expected when I turned here was to find you and _you_," she looked accusingly at Blaise then back at her housemate, "snogging!"

"Oh jeez, thanks a lot, Mione," Abby's face looked like a very ripe tomato about to explode. "Can't you announce it any louder? I don't think the rest of the school heard you," she hissed angrily at her housemate.

"What? Zabini finally snogged Wilson?" It was Draco who spoke. He chuckled and walked up to his housemate, wrapping his arm around Blaise's broad shoulders, he pulled him hard against him and gave Blaise's back a sound slap, "Good for you, Zabini! Finally you got the balls to stake your claim," he cheered.

"Shut-up, Malfoy," Blaise hissed and shrugged his housemate's arm off. "Are you done mooning over Weasley so we can get the hell outta here?" he snapped at him.

Draco grinned like the Cheshire cat at his housemate. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Ginny standing a foot away from them and winked. "Check those notes I jot down, Weasley. You'll find them mighty helpful." He advised then followed Blaise out of the library.

Once the two Slytherin seventh year boys left the crowd around them dwindled until finally it was just Ginny, Hermione, and Abby standing there. The colour on Abby's face was starting to return back to normal, but she was still angry at Hermione for embarrassing her like that.

"Gee, thanks a lot for letting me die of mortification, Hermione," Abby snapped and headed back at the table Ginny was occupying.

"I'm sorry. Like what I said I was just caught by surprise," Hermione explained, following the two sixth years to the table.

"Well next time try _not_ to alert the entire school, okay?" She pulled a chair and sat down. Hermione sat where Ginny was sitting at just moments before and Ginny took the seat Draco vacated.

"Well next time you decide to snog Zabini, do it somewhere _less_ public, alright?" Hermione advised.

"Well that's not going to be a problem because it's _not_ going to happen again." Abby assured her then turned her attention to her best friend, wanting to drop the whole snogging Blaise incident. "What was that Malfoy was talking about checking your notes, Gin? Was he _really_ helping you with your report?"

"Yeah. I didn't ask him to, but he just went on ahead and took over." She grabbed the book he snatched from her and opened it to the page where he inserted the parchment he jotted his notes down on. "Oh Merlin," Ginny gasped when she read what he wrote down on the piece of parchment.

"What?" Hermione and Abby looked at their friend in alarm.

Ginny lifted her gaze and looked from one friend to another then dropped her gaze back on the piece of parchment. "He--he left me a...letter."

"Really?" Abby was out of her chair in a flash and pulled the chair beside Ginny. Hermione did the same and both girls looked over Ginny's shoulder as the sixth year read Draco's note.

_Dearest Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House,_

_I write to you now in the hopes of winning your trust back. Not that I had your trust before you knew who it was behind those letters and flowers, but nevertheless I knew after what just happened there won't be a chance in hell that you'd believe me, let alone trust me. I apologize for underestimating you, but before you condemn me to the bowels of the Earth, please hear me out. _

_I did what I did because I didn't know what else to do. If you and I were two different people and from two different houses without any background of our family's feud I'd be more than happy to come up to you in person and ask you out. As it is, I couldn't do that. There are certain standards in this society of ours that we must follow. Please accept my apology. I am not really the type who apologizes, but for you I'm willing to try. Are you willing enough to forgive me for making a fool out of you?_

_Another day is going by  
I'm thinking about you all the time  
But you're out there  
And I'm here waiting_

_And I wrote this letter in my head  
'Cuz so many things were left unsaid  
But now you're gone  
And I can't think straight_

_This could be the one last chance  
To make you understand_

_I'd do anything  
Just to hold you in my arms  
To try to make you laugh  
Somehow I can't put you in the past  
I'd do anything  
Just to fall asleep with you  
Will you remember me?  
'Cuz I know I won't forget you_

_So now maybe after all these years  
If you miss me have no fear  
I'll be here  
I'll be waiting_

_This could be the one last chance to make you understand  
And I just can't let you leave me once again_

_I close my eyes  
And all I see is you  
I close my eyes   
I try to sleep I can't forget you  
And I'd do anything for you_

_I'd do anything  
To fall asleep with you  
I'd do anything  
There's nothing I won't do  
I'd do anything  
To fall asleep with you  
I'd do anything  
'Cuz I know I won't forget you..._

_Love always,  
Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House_

"Oh...my...God!" Abby tore her gaze from the parchment they were reading and stared wide-eyed at Ginny. "I hate to say this, Gin, but I think he is_ seriously_ in to you!"

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa!_" Hermione put her hands up and looked at her two sixth year housemates, "Let me see if I get this straight. Ginny, Malfoy is behind those love letters? _He_ is your APC?" She couldn't believe it. Malfoy liking a Weasley?

"You better believe it, Mione," Abby nodded. "Our APC's finally unmasked. And boy was Ginny very pissed off when she found out the way she did _who_ was behind those romantic love letters!"

Hermione was still trying to process what she just found out. It was odd enough to catch Blaise and Abby making out. But for _Malfoy_ to actually have real feelings for Ginny? His letter did sound sincere though, and she had no idea _how_ Ginny found out it was Malfoy behind those letters. All she knew was that Malfoy likes Ginny. Blaise likes Abby. And suddenly the whole Gryffindor-Slytherin house rivalries didn't seem to matter a great big deal anymore.

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**A/N:** Hope ya'll enjoyed reading this chapter. It's a bit longer than the previous one I posted. And look, _another_ Slytherin falling for a Gryffindor. *grins* What do you think will happen next?

**A/N2:** And our APC's "poem" is **I'd Do Anything** by Simple Plan. I knew I'd be using this song sooner or later, hehehehehe *winks*

**PhoenixRae's THANK YOUS:** again I'd like to thank all you wonderful reviewers & readers alike who are all patient enough to wait for me to update this fic. It took me months, but look! Two new chapters in two days! *lol* Keep those reviews coming & enjoy the fic.


	19. I Told You He's Serious!

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** OK, here's me again updating this fic. I think I'm on a roll here. *lol* And as long as I am inspired to continue writing this fic, I might as well just keep on doing it before that dreaded writer's block invades my mind once more. Writer's block's a bitch, I tell ya. Anyway, as always read, review & enjoy!

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**XIX. ****I Told You He's Serious!**

The next couple of days proved to be something that tested Abby's strength and patience. After Hermione busted her and Blaise snogging inside the library, everywhere she went, everywhere she turned, whenever she passed by a fellow student down the hall they'd always be giving her a curious look. At first Abby learned to shrug it off, but after two days straight of being watched and talked about, she has had it.

"God, will these people ever stop staring at me like I've suddenly grown two heads?" complained Abby as soon as they went through the portrait hole into their dormitory. "I mean, honestly, it's not like none of them ever kissed _anybody_ before!"

"Well, it's not everyday that a Gryffindor and a Slytherin get cozy with each other," Ginny pointed out, falling into step beside her best friend. They headed to the staircase leading to the girls' dorm room.

"Even so! And it was just a stupid kiss. It _didn't_ mean anything at all," she denied.

Ginny cocked an eyebrow and eyed her friend carefully, "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Abby insisted irately, "Why wouldn't I be sure? Hello? It's _Zabini_ we're talking about here. Sure he's a knockout for Tom Welling, and I have a huge-arse crush on that hunk of a man, but that's besides the point. The point is, Blaise Zabini won't have _another chance_ at laying those soft-a-licious lips of his against mine!"

"Sure, whatever you say, Abs, whatever you say," Ginny hid her grin from her obviously frazzled best friend and climbed the rest of the stairs shaking her head at Abby who was in complete denial about her attraction to Blaise. Ginny wasn't blind. She saw the attraction between Abby and Blaise. She just didn't say anything because she knew her best friend had a huge crush on Harry, but somehow Ginny had a feeling Abby's crush on Harry's already gone.

Ginny opened their dorm room door and sucked in an audible breath at the sight that greeted her. Abby stood rooted behind her best friend as she peered over Ginny's shoulder, her eyes nearly bulging out from their sockets at the sight before them. Two out of the other three of their roommates were each staring dumbfounded from their beds at Ginny's side of the room.

"Holy son of Merlin! What the heck is this?" Abby whispered as she looked at the dozen or so flowers scattered around Ginny's bed.

"I don't know," Ginny was shaking her head, her eyes glued on her side of the room as well. "Abs, got any ideas?"

"Why don't you go up to your bed and find out," Abby pushed her friend inside their dorm room and closed the door after her.

"I don't think going near my bed will help, Abs."

"Of course it will. There's a note on your pillow with a single stem red rose on it. I can give you three guesses as to whom they're from. D, M, and S."

"_S?_" Ginny frowned and looked over her shoulder at her friend.

Abby shrugged. "Sorry, I dunno his middle name--_if_ he has a middle name. I just threw in that last letter 'coz remember I said I'll give you three guesses?"

Ginny rolled her eyes skyward and shook her head. Leave it to Abby to be funny. Nevertheless she marched towards her bed with her chin held high. She knew at the back of her head who sent her these flowers, but a part of her was insisting he couldn't have possibly accomplished showering her bedside with flowers. She stopped right beside her bed, her eyes fell on her pillow where a the single stem rose rested, a rolled-up parchment attached to it tied with a green ribbon.

"C'mon Gin, open it," urged Abby.

"Yeah, Ginny. Open it and let's see _who_ sent you these lovely flowers," cooed Bianca Stephens who occupied the bed across from Ginny's.

"When B and I got here and saw those flowers arranged nicely around your bed, I swear we were both jealous! I mean, it's still a long ways away from Valentines day and already somebody's showering you with flowers. How _romantic!_" Giggled Helen Roscoe who occupied the bed to Abby's left.

"Oh what the hell," Ginny muttered and picked up the rose and carefully untied the parchment attached to it. She took a nice, long whiff of the rose's scent before gingerly placing it back on her pillow. Pushing some of the scattered rose petals on top of her comforter, she sat down and unrolled the parchment.

_My Dearest Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House,_

_I hope you liked the flowers. I ordered them especially for you. I even asked for help from someone I didn't expect to be in alliance with, but I knew if I had to win your trust and your affection I must do what I wouldn't normally do. With the help of that accomplice of mine, I managed to buy you these flowers whose meanings I am more than willing to share with you. Each flower stands for something. I wanted to give you a bouquet, but at the last minute I decided to just shower you with each and every flower just to prove to you that I am sincere. I was told that you are aware of each and every flower's meaning. Enjoy your flowers._

_I know you think that I shouldn't still love you  
I'll tell you that  
But if I didn't say it  
Well I'd still have felt it  
Where's the sense in that?_

_I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder  
Or return to where we were_

_Well I will go down with this ship  
And I won't put my hands up and surrender  
There will be no white flag above my door  
I'm in love and always will be_

_I know I left too much mess  
And destruction to come back again  
And I caused nothing but trouble  
I understand if you can't talk to me again  
And if you live by the rules of "It's over"  
Then I'm sure that that makes sense_

_Well I will go down with this ship  
And I won't put my hands up and surrender  
There will be no white flag above my door  
I'm in love and always will be_

_And when we meet  
As I'm sure we will  
All that was then  
Will be there still  
I'll let it pass  
And hold my tongue  
And you will think  
That I've moved on_

_Well I will go down with this ship  
And I won't put my hands up and surrender  
There will be no white flag above my door  
I'm in love and always will be..._

_Love always,  
Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House_

Ginny put down the parchment and looked around her bed, her eyes resting on the arrangement of daisies (innocence, loyal love), calla lilies (beauty), orange blossoms (eternal love), and red roses (love). How in the world did he manage to get all these into her room? She did a quick survey of her side of the room then her gaze slowly met Abby's.

"Gin, I honestly think he _is_ serious about you."

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**A/N:** Ain't Draco just a tad bit too mushy? *lol* But he wants to win Ginny's affection so he's turning into a big hulk of...well, mush? *lol*

**A/N2:** Draco's borrowed "poem" is Dido's **White Flag**

**PhoenixRae's THANK YOUs:** Again I would like to thank all of you wonderful people. There's just too many of you to mention, but you all know who you are. 


	20. What Are You Trying to Prove?

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** I know _months_ has passed since I last updated this fic. I am so, so, _sooooo_ sorry about that. Damn writer's block (and life too) often gets in the way. Anyways, it looks like this fic is nearing its end, I just have to find _the_ perfect way to end this. Thanks for sticking around and cajoling me to update. grins Enjoy this chapter!

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**XX. What Are You Trying to Prove?**

In as much as Ginny appreciated the romantic gesture Draco Malfoy did in order to win her, she thought he went a tad bit overboard with the mushiness. But if he thought he'd win her over with that stunt he pulled last night, he was wrong. She wasn't that easily swept off her feet. Well, she was, but she'd be damned if she admitted that!

Ginny went about her day ignoring the sweet aromas of the flowers surrounding her bed as soon as she got up this morning. She gave each one of her roommates a flower just to get rid of them, but after she gave Abby, Bianca, Helen, and Andrea Raven one flower of their choice, Ginny was still stuck with quite a few of them. She ended up distributing some to the other girls from different years. When Hermione was handed a rose, there was a certain gleam in the seventh year Gryffindor that didn't go amiss to Ginny.

"You helped him, didn't you?" she accused her closest friend after breakfast. She followed Hermione as soon as she was done her breakfast and dragged her to a corner. "_You_ helped Malfoy pick the flowers to give me _and_ you arranged them in my room."

"What are you talking about, Gin? Me help Malfoy out? Are you crazy?"

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest, an eyebrow raised as she stared at her friend. "C'mon Mione, I _know_ you. And Malfoy did hint on being helped by someone he'd least likely to ask for help. Now I know I can always guess he asked Harry or Ron, but I doubt those two have any romantic bone in their body so the next obvious person he could've asked for help was _you._"

"Ginny--"

Ginny raised her hand and silenced Hermione. "Mione, I love you. You're like a sister to me. And most importantly, I _know_ you. You don't have to lie to me. It's not like you swore under oath that you would not reveal to me that you helped Malfoy out!"

"It's not that I swore under oath, Ginny. I just promised Malfoy that I won't let anybody else find out that he asked a Muggle born for help. You know how snotty he is. He thinks me being a Muggle born is beneath him," explained Hermione. "And for what's it worth, Gin, I think if Malfoy would stoop that low and ask _me_ for help, I think he's _really_ serious about you." Hermione left Ginny with that last comment, making the redheaded sixth year ponder on the possibility that Malfoy was indeed serious about pursuing her, even though he went through such extremes just to get her attention.

Blaise waited until the final bell of the day outside Ginny and Abby's last class. He was under strict orders from Draco to give Ginny the note he wrote the night before. He looked at it before Draco sealed it and gave his housemate his two thumbs-up. It was still a very un-Draco-like letter, but the poor bloke was practically pouring his heart out to the one girl he wanted. He knew Draco Malfoy's status at Hogwarts; he was the resident heartbreaker. The stud of the Slytherin male (next to him of course, but every female in school would challenge that). He was a slimeball who gave no care to all the girls he dated and bedded; he was only after one thing anyway: sex and the warmth of a female body lying next to him.

Blaise shook his head and snorted. Yep, that was the old Draco alright. But since falling for the most unlikely girl in all of Hogwarts, something about his old buddy changed. Draco became more moody. He started acting strangely, especially when he started sending Ginny those unsigned love letters. The allure of the numerous lust-worthy beauties that paraded before him went unnoticed; Draco only had eyes for the spitfire redheaded sixth year Gryffindor chaser.

Blaise snapped out of his reverie when students started filing out of their classrooms. He straightened from his post standing by the large pillar across the door of Ginny and Abby's last class of the day. He checked the inside pocket of his robe and felt for the piece of parchment Draco entrusted him with to deliver to Ginny.

"Weasley! Wilson!" Blaise called over the top of the other students' heads as he made her way towards the two sixth years.

Ginny and Abby stopped and turned to look at Blaise approaching them. Ginny felt Abby stiffened as they both watched Blaise tower over the other sixth years, his right arm raised up and waving at them. From where they stood they had a good look at the Slytherin chaser; the broadness of his shoulders, the perfect V-shape of his torso visible from his open school robe and the way his school shirt hugged the fine contours of his upper body was enough to give any red-hot-blooded female sweet, lustful dreams tonight. And from the way Abby was practically _ogling_ at Blaise, Ginny knew her best friend would be one of those girls fantasizing about him in their sleep.

"_Phew!_ Finally, I made it," Blaise announced as soon as he passed through the throng of eager students who can't wait to get back to their dormitories. "How are you ladies this afternoon?" His smile could've melted the largest glacier on the planet, and as far as Ginny was concerned it just did.

Abby melted into a huge puddle beside her when he received a full blast of Blaise Zabini's megawatt smile.

"We're fine, Zabini," Ginny replied since Abby seemed to have lost her tongue. "What do you want?"

"Whoa, aren't we a bit too snippy this afternoon," Blaise raised his hands up and backed away a bit from them. "You can't be mad at me, can you Gin?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow and challenged him. "After having something to do with Malfoy's devious plan? What do you think?"

"Hey, I wasn't an instigator to his whacked-up plan."

"But you _helped_ him nevertheless."

Blaise opened his mouth to argue, but the fire he saw in Ginny's eyes told him she'd never let him win this argument. The best (and smartest) thing to do was to concede and accept her anger towards him.

"OK, I don't want to argue with you anymore. I'm sorry for ever taking part in Malfoy's whacked-up plan. Is that better?"

Ginny scrutinized the young man standing before her carefully, deciding on whether or not to forgive him or still give him heck.

"C'mon Ginny, it doesn't take that long to forgive me. I'll understand you taking your sweet old time forgiving Malfoy for what he did, but me? Honestly Weasley! I was just the blasted messenger!"

"And messengers are often shot by the person they're delivering the message to," Abby pointed out.

Blaise turned his attention to Ginny's companion, willing himself not to react to her very presence. Since their unexpected snogfest a few nights ago Blaise hadn't been able to look at Abigail Wilson without blushing. The spunky blond companion of his housemate's ladylove grew on him without him realizing it. Sure it was just a minor infatuation at the beginning of the year, but as he watched Abby since the school year started and actually interacted with her every now and then he glimpsed something about the sixth year Gryffindor that appealed to him.

"Well this messenger is _washing_ his hands off this fiasco after this one last message I was asked to deliver to Ginny," Blaise pulled out the piece of parchment that has been burning a hole in his robe pocket and handed it to the redhead. "Read it and decide what you think. Believe it or not Gin, but Malfoy's really fallen hard for you. I know he's a real prat and didn't make your life easy for you, but cut the guy some slack."

"And since _when_ did the famous Blaise Zabini became a real softie, huh?" challenged Abby, her arms crossed firmly over her chest and glared up at the towering Slytherin seventh year.

Blaise gave her an annoyed look but opted not to say anything. She was just goading him and he wouldn't be stupid enough to get into a fight with her. The last thing he wanted was to have two Gryffindor girls berating him.

"Read the letter then let me know your response," Blaise told Ginny and firmly planted himself before her, blocking her way to the stairs.

"What? Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid I am. I was given _specific_ instructions to wait for you to finish reading the letter and have your reply before I show my face to my surly housemate."

Ginny raised an eyebrow then looked at Abby who merely gave her a slight shrug. Blaise was serious about hearing her answer to whatever question Draco asked her in his letter. _Might as well make life easy for Zabini. And give Abby ample time to ogle at her new love_, Ginny thought to herself as she unrolled the parchment.

_Restless tonight  
Cause I wasted the light  
Between both these times  
I drew a really thin line  
It's nothing I planned  
And not that I can  
But you should be mine  
Across that line  
  
If I traded it all  
If I gave it all away for one thing  
Just for one thing  
If I sorted it out  
If I knew all about this one thing  
Wouldn't that be something  
  
I promise I might  
Not walk on by  
Maybe next time  
But not this time  
  
Even though I know  
I don't want to know  
Yeah I guess I know_  
_I just hate how it sounds  
_  
  
_Dearest Ginny,  
I've tried everything to persuade you to believe in my true intentions. I know you're not buying all this mushy crap, and I can't blame you. I never really looked like the type of guy who'd be all romantic and shit after all the crap I put you through this past six years. I don't know how else to tell you, to show you, to let you know that I am not playing a game. I can't change who I am, but for you I'll try to be nice if that'll make any difference to you.  
Isn't it enough that I'm willing to try? Honestly Ginny, do you think we'll have a chance? Or rather, do you think I'll have a chance with you? Blaise will be waiting for your reply. I know at the back of my head you will most likely turn me down, but I'm hoping against hope that you won't. But know this, whatever your answer might be I'll respect it. I just want to know._

_Always,  
Draco_

Ginny stared at the piece of parchment in her hand for the longest time. Torn between giving in to her real feelings or denying what she really wanted, she couldn't make up her mind. Weighing the pros and cons of her actions, she had been known to be impulsive as of late, but if she acted recklessly on this one she knew Ron would never forgive her. Hermione and Abby might not have a problem with it, but Harry and Ron might.

Blaise and Abby waited with baited breath to hear her answer. Blaise knew what Draco asked in his letter. Abby found out what it was Draco asked when she read the letter over Ginny's shoulder. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Malfoy (_almost_ feel sorry for Malfoy to be precise). The poor bloke was pouring his heart out, leaving the final decision in Ginny's hands. Honestly she can see the _major_ attraction between Malfoy and Ginny, and regardless of how Ron and Harry will react if ever Ginny decided to date Malfoy, there was nothing much they can do about it. It was Ginny's choice.

Making the toughest decision to date, Ginny lifted her chin high into the air, her brown eyes looking down her nose (or tried to anyway) at Blaise who stood towering over her.

"Zabini, tell Malfoy I don't think so. There's a small chance in hell that a Weasley and a Malfoy will ever find unity in this lifetime or the next." With her chin still jutted high in the air, she walked away from her best friend and Blaise, leaving a dumbfounded Abby and a crestfallen Blaise.

"Did...did Ginny just say what I thought she just said?" Blaise asked, his eyes still fixed on Ginny's departing back.

Still too dumbfounded to speak, Abby can only nod her head in response to Blaise's question. What the hell was her best friend thinking? After Malfoy showered her with flowers she knew her best friend has completely fallen for him. She fell for the man behind the sweet, mushy letters and the wonderful flowers. Regardless of who the sender was, Abby knew the man who wrote those sweet, sappy love notes was honest and sincere; and Ginny _loved_ that man! What the hell was she thinking telling Blaise there was no chance in hell for him and Malfoy?!

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**A/N:** I think this is a good place as any to end this chapter here, what do you think? Well, I kinda didn't like the way this chapter turned out, but you be the judge. At least I am seeing some sort of _direction_ on where I'm going to take this fic. Like what I said in my above's a/n, this fic is coming to an end. How soon? I'm not sure yet. Just stick around.

**A/N2:** Draco borrowed Finger Eleven's **One Thing** song

**PhoenixRae's THANK YOUs:** I know there's too many of you wonderful reviewers & readers alike to thank, but you all know who you are. Thank you for sticking around with me for the time being. grins Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!


	21. Fixing a Broken Heart

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** The end is near...yes, I'm afraid it is. I'm just trying to tie-up some loose ends here but sooner or later this fic is coming to an end. I'm not sure how many more chapters are in store for you wonderful readers & reviewers alike, but I can sense that I am ready to end this fic after...well, after a few months of not doing much to it. lol

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**XXI. ****Fixing A Broken Heart**

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months, and now it was only a couple more weeks to go before the end of the school year. Time passed by without Ginny noticing. Everyday seemed to be the same as the previous one that passed; dull and completely uneventful.

Quidditch season was coming to an end. Gryffindor will face Slytherin at the finals. It will be a nasty match between the two rival houses. And it will be an exceptionally hard game for Abby to watch as far as Ginny was concerned (she was sure the other girls from their house also felt sorry for Abby's predicament). She wouldn't know who to root for. Dating Blaise Zabini sure came with a price.

Yes. Abby and Blaise hooked-up shortly before the Christmas holiday. It came as a shock to everyone when the two admitted to everyone that they were seeing each other. But Ginny knew long before they came out that they were together; she caught them numerous times snogging in the library when Abby claimed to have been studying for a quiz or something.

When Ginny asked her friend why she kept her relationship with Blaise under wrap, Abby's explanation was she didn't want Ginny to be left out.

"Left out?" Ginny looked scandalized at her best friend's explanation for her behaviour. "Abs, Blaise is a great guy. I don't mind hanging out with him. Besides, it's obvious right from the start that you two liked each other."

"But he's friends with Malfoy, Gin. And I know the subject of Malfoy is a bit too touchy for you still," Abby explained.

"Oh please, Abs! Malfoy's history. He's obviously moved on from his so-called _infatuation_ with me."

"How can you say that?" Abby looked appalled. "According to Blaise Malfoy was devastated when he told him what you said to tell him after reading his letter."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "And you believed him? Please. Malfoy's ego was bruised. He wasn't able to add _me_ as a another notch on his bedpost."

"I don't think so, Gin."

"Who are you kidding, Abs? Since that day I told Blaise that there's no chance in hell that Malfoy and I will ever get together, I've seen him prance around school with a different girl every week!"

"Maybe he's covering--"

"I don't care! Look, I'm happy for you and Blaise. But warn Zabini that if he as much as two-timed you, I know quite a few hexes I can use on him to make him think twice about messing with my friends."

Ginny went out of her way almost for the next couple of weeks after Abby admitted she and Blaise are a couple just to prove to her best friend that she doesn't mind her having a boyfriend while Ginny was apparently fixing a broken heart still. Ginny threw herself into her studies and spent most of her down time talking to Oliver either about school or just about life in general.

During one of their heart-to-heart talks Oliver confessed why he helped Malfoy land Ginny in detention.

"He knew something that he shouldn't have. And being the slimy git he's known to be, he blackmailed me until I couldn't take it anymore," Oliver began while sitting on a big boulder facing the lake. Ginny sat on another boulder beside him, her legs propped up and her chin pressed against her knees.

"And that is?"

Oliver took a while before he replied. Picking up a couple of flat-surfaced stones, he threw them into the lake, his eyes squinted as he followed the skipping stone until it stopped. He contemplated for a bit before replying, "Now don't flip out or anything, Gin, but for the past couple of years I've been keeping a secret that not even your brother knew about," he began.

Ginny's eyes widen as she stared at Oliver's serious face. "You're gay!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Oliver's serious face scrunched into a frown and turned to Ginny, his face aghast at her assumption. "I'm not gay, Virginia! And that wasn't even what I was about to say."

"Well you sound so dead serious that I automatically assumed that's what you're about to say." Ginny made herself more comfortable on the boulder she was perched on, her eyes watching her History of Magic professor closely. "If you're not gay, then how come I never see you out with anybody?"

"Because I'm in love with someone," Oliver admitted.

"Eh?" Ginny raised an eyebrow. So he was in love with someone, how come he hasn't made a move on her yet? Surely Oliver knew how to make a move on the opposite sex!

"It's complicated," he bent over and picked up a few more stones to throw into the lake. He was buying himself some time. He didn't expect his conversation with Ginny to turn out like this; it just happened.

"Complicated how?"

"She's not interested in me. And if ever she is, I'm just a friend to her."

"How can you be so sure, Ollie? Maybe she feels the same way about you too," she cajoled.

"Yeah, when hell freezes over she'll feel the same way."

Ginny made a face at her stubborn friend. What made him so sure whomever this woman was that he's in love with doesn't feel the same way about him? No woman in their right state of mind would turn somebody like Oliver Wood down. He may be an obsessive-compulsive kinda guy when he was on to something (she remembered back in her earlier years at Hogwarts and Oliver was the captain of the Quidditch team; he lived, breathed, and slept for Quidditch!), but that was part of what makes Oliver Wood unique and adorable. If he can give Quidditch his hundred percent attention, who says he can't give the woman he loves the same kind of attention?

"Who is she, Ollie? Do I know her?"

Oliver smirked, throwing the last stone in his hand and this time it skidded farther than the last couple of stones he threw into the lake. He didn't answer her right away. He took his sweet old time. He knew carrying a torch for Ginny Weasley was as futile as the Weasley twins taking life seriously, and yet at the back of his mind he kept a small flicker of hope alive that someday Ginny'd look at him one day and realize that he was the one for her. He wasn't sure if Malfoy succeeded in making the youngest Weasley offspring fall in love with him, and Ginny hasn't made any slight indication that she fancied the silver haired Slytherin. But Oliver was still uncertain of how Ginny Weasley truly sees him. Was he just a brother to her? A friend? A favourite professor? He doesn't know.

"Let's change the subject, shall we Gin?" he offered, wanting to drop their discussion of his private life. "Tell me how you're doing in all your classes? Finals are coming up. Are you ready for it?"

_Smooth move, Wood, very smooth,_ Ginny silently applauded her History of Magic professor. She sensed that he wasn't ready yet to share with her everything that Draco found out and used against Oliver to make him succumb to the Slytherin's demands, but she knew when to stop asking questions.

* * *

"Oh Merlin, will you two _please_ stop making that noise. It's not like I don't know what you're doing behind those books!" scolded Ginny who was slouched down so low in her seat in the library. Blaise and Abby were seated opposite her, a couple of large reference books propped up on the table, using the books as decoy to hide the couple snogging behind it.

A pair of chair legs scraped against the floor as Blaise and Abby straightened up in their seat. A bit flustered after being told by their friend to stop necking, Blaise and Abby tried not to show as much of their snogfest to whomever else passed by their table. Although they chose to sit at the very back of the room, still, there were those very few students who tend to wander that far back in the room.

"Jeez, Weasley, can't you raise your voice any louder?" muttered Blaise.

"You know Madam Pince has threatened to kick Blaise and I out after she caught us a couple of times snogging in here instead of actually studying," Abby hissed.

Ginny put her book down and raised an eyebrow at her two friends across from her. "And is that my fault, hm? You two snog so damn loud I betcha everyone in the library can _hear_ you two."

Abby blushed. Blaise frowned. Ginny grinned from ear to ear. She agreed to accompany Abby to the library under the pretense of them studying for their finals, but as soon as she saw Blaise seated at the table Abby told her to go to while she made a detour down an aisle to grab a book Ginny knew she was going to be used as a decoy.

"You two better put in some _study_ time as well in between your snog sessions. I don't want my best friend failing her finals all because she can't remember _anything_ she's learned this year."

"I'm not going to fail!" Abby said haughtily.

"Yeah, right. I doubt that hickey you're sporting will bring you luck in tomorrow's exam." Ginny watched Abby scramble to hide the love bite Blaise gave her the night before under her robe. Abby sent Ginny a sharp glare and grabbed her textbook for Care of Magical Creatures.

"Zabini, you done here?"

Ginny's back stiffened at the sound of the voice that came from behind her. Her hands gripping the textbook she was reading was slowly turning to white as her grip on it tightened. It has been close to eight months now since she last heard Draco Malfoy's voice at close range. And this was the first time he's approached Blaise with her around. Keeping her cool, Ginny continued reading the paragraph in the book, but try as she might she kept on reading the first sentence and hardly made any sense of it.

Draco's presence was distracting her. It didn't help also that he was standing way too close to her.

"Why do you ask, Malfoy?"

"Wendy's got my History of Magic book. McGonagall caught us and we both made a mad dash for it before she landed in detention," Draco explained nonchalantly.

_Wendy._ Ginny clenched her jaw tightly. Wendy Appleton, a Ravenclaw seventh year. She was Draco's flavour of the week. Last week it was a Hufflepuff seventh year, and the week before that was a Slytherin sixth year. Every week it was a different girl for Draco, and Ginny was getting sick and tired of hearing about them and seeing him prance around school with a different girl in his arms every week!

"Then why don't you go get it from her? I have to study too you know," Blaise said irritably.

"I can't if I want to keep my head in tact," Draco answered.

"Like I care if your head's kept in tact?" Ginny snorted, flipping a page of the textbook after giving up on ever making sense of the page she was looking at.

Draco raised an eyebrow when he heard Ginny's remark. Looking down at the redhead seated on the chair in front of him, he took a couple of steps closer until the back of his thighs almost touched the back of her chair. Bracing his hands on the back of the chair and the table, he looked down at the petite redhead.

"What did you say, Weaslette?" he demanded.

Ginny was surprised by Draco's action. She nearly jumped off her seat when he towered over her, making her cran her neck almost all the way to the back just to meet his gaze. He was leaning down at her so close their noses were barely inches away from each other's.

"Did I say something, Malfoy?" she replied back, matching his glare.

For a brief instant something flickered at the back of Draco's ice-cold gray eyes, making Ginny blink twice to clear her vision. But as soon as she did whatever she saw in his eyes was gone. Instead she saw something akin to hatred burning at the back of his irises.

"You made a comment about me losing my head."

"I did?" Ginny feigned innocence, batting her eyelashes at him. "I don't think so, bleached boy."

"You lie," he replied but the words came out as a whisper as his head kept on moving closer.

Ginny's breath got caught in her throat, anticipating what Draco's next course of action will be. If she goaded him he might do something drastic and she'd regret it. On the other hand, if she doesn't goad him he might think she was a weakling.

"At least I never made any silly promises and made a fool of myself."

Something snapped inside Draco and the next thing Ginny knew his lips were crushing hers--_hard._ Blaise and Abby sat back in awe of what was happening right before their very eyes. Since Draco stepped up closer to Ginny's chair they both held their breath for whatever might transpire between the two, but nothing prepared them for this surprise snogging!

Shock made Ginny immobile for the first couple of seconds. She didn't know what happened. Draco was swift. His mouth claimed hers before she can say something. The pressure of his lips against hers almost knocked her teeth back down her throat, and she refused to respond to him. But after a couple of seconds she sensed a change in Draco's kiss. He eased some pressure off, his tongue flickered out and ran over her slightly parted lips. Cajoling her lips to welcome his tongue, Ginny parted them and allowed him access into her mouth, his tongue finding and mating with her eager tongue.

Seconds ticked by to minutes. Ginny didn't care. Draco Malfoy was kissing her. Finally the man who drove her wild with wanting that night has a face now, and his kiss was every bit as she remembered from that long ago night. Warm, gentle, and caressing. Oh hell, she was drowning in a pool of lust at the moment.

A book feel on the floor a few aisles down and broke the magic between them. Pushing away from one another, their eyes wide from shock, Draco straightened up and without saying another word to her or Blaise he walked away from their table and left the library. Ginny, who was still trying to catch her breath and stop the dizziness that consumed her after that mind blowing kiss, turned a pair of wide, brown eyes at her friends before gathering her stuff.

"I gotta go," she told them and without putting her books in her bag she walked out of the library.

Blaise and Abby were silent for the longest time, watching Ginny's back disappear from view before turning to each other.

"Those two _needs_ to get together soon!" they said in unison.

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**A/N: **Well, how do you like _this_ chapter? grins _Phew!_ The last scene kept on playing over and over inside my head as soon as I started writing the second part of this chapter. lol We need to get some D/G action there -- an action where we _know_ Draco's the one kissing Gin and not her mysterious APC! lol

**PhoenixRae's THANK YOUs:** Again there's too many of you to thank, but I appreciate all your input, comments and whatnots. Thanks for pointing out some stuff to me that otherwise I wouldn't have noticed.


	22. Can't You See I'm Hurting Too?

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** And I thought I'll be able to upload this ASAP! lol Well, now that I have some time again, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

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**XXII. Can't You See I'm Hurting Too?**

Trying to make sense of what just happened between them in the library the other night, Draco Malfoy found himself walking the banks of the great lake one quiet afternoon away from the usual ruckus generated by the excited students of Hogwarts. He told himself countless times that he was over Ginny Weasley. Heck, he has a long string of female companions since her to prove his point. He didn't know why he was even infatuated with the petite redhead. She wasn't the supermodel type. She was just a plain, _poor_ pureblooded witch that caught his fancy. Lucius would laugh at him when he finds out his son tried to win a Weasley.

Draco was surprised when he heard the rumours of Zabini hooking up with Wilson, Ginny's best friend. He didn't think Zabini would manage to pull it off considering they have been rivals from day one (blame that to this on-going feud between their two houses). Blaise didn't resort to any form of trickery; it was a bumpy ride for Blaise before he reached that happy ending he was looking for, but it sure paid off in the end. Now he, Draco Malfoy, was the one going around school like some man-whore that he once was.

"Lost in your thoughts, Malfoy?"

Draco stopped near a large border and looked up to find Oliver wood standing just a foot away from him lounging against the bark of a sturdy tree. Glaring at his professor, Draco decided to ignore him, but Oliver had something to say that cannot be ignored.

"Girl problem?" Oliver prodded still lounging lazily against the tree. "I know a certain redhead who can do that to a person, you know? Drive them insane. Make them think of things they normally wouldn't think about," he shrugged and pushed away from the tree. Slipping his hands in his trouser pockets, Oliver crossed the small distance between them and stopped by the giant boulder rock, his gaze fixed on the lake. "You shouldn't have played her like that."

"Played her like what?" Draco angrily snapped.

Oliver cocked an eyebrow and looked at the blond seventh year. "She's no fool, Malfoy. Ginny's a pretty smart girl. I guess you wouldn't know that since you were never around her much."

"What do you care, Wood? Weasley hates me. You can make your move on her any damn time you want!"

"And you wouldn't blackmail me again?" Oliver scoffed and shook his head, "No, Malfoy. Not this time. I know I have feelings for Ginny, but no matter what I do she'll never see me as more than another brother to her."

"I don't think that's any of my problem. If you were madly in love with her why didn't you pursue her? You had all the time and chance in the world, and yet you let it slip by."

Oliver shrugged. "I knew she'd never fancy me back."

"You're right. She won't fancy someone like you. I don't think someone like Ginny would be stupid enough to fall for a sorry loser such as yourself, _Professor._"

"Watch your tongue, Malfoy," Oliver warned.

"What? I'm just telling the truth."

"And you thought Ginny would fancy someone like _you_?" Oliver questioned, an eyebrow raised and regarded the seventh year Slytherin carefully. "If I am not mistaken you haven't been Mr. Right to her since the first day you two saw each other in Diagon Alley. What made you think she'd fall for you too?"

Draco clenched his fists. Everything Oliver said aimed close to home. He was right, the silly git. What was he thinking? Ginny Weasley wouldn't fancy him back. Maybe she fancied that damnable, romantic APC of hers which was his alter ego, but that wasn't the real him. Draco Malfoy was no romantic. It was an illusion. That APC persona was an illusion; he'd never surface again...

* * *

"Whacha doing, Malfoy?" asked Blaise when he saw his roommate hunched forward in his seat, his quill flying across the piece of parchment in front of him.

"Nothing," Draco replied curtly and hid the parchment from his roommate. "Don't you have a date with Wilson at the library this evening?"

"Yeah, I do. But Abby just owled me with a note saying she'd be a few minutes late. Weasley is giving his sister the sermon of the century."

"What? What for?"

Blaise shrugged and fell on his bed. "I think Ron found some of Ginny's APC's mushy love letters and now he's demanding _who_ this new guy in his sister's life."

"Weasley blew a lid, didn't he, huh?" Draco smirked.

"Yep," Blaise nodded. "Abby said Ginny and Ron are having a yelling contest in their dormitory as we speak. But it will be over in a few minutes. It better be 'coz Abby and I agreed to meet in the library in ten minutes." He got up and walked to where his friend was sitting, "Hey, why don't you come to the library with me. Ginny's going to be there. You don't necessarily have to talk to her, but if you find the courage to actually pour your heart out and talk, hey, that'll be great," he invited.

Draco narrowed his eyes at Blaise's invitation. He knew every time Blaise meet up with his girlfriend in the library Ginny was there. He doesn't know why Ginny was always with them, but Draco figured those two needed to distract Madam Pince if they were to snog behind books in the library.

"So? What do you say?"

Draco glanced at the piece of parchment on the table then back at his roommate. "I'll see if I can make a trip down to the library," he shrugged.

"You sure?" Blaise stopped at the door. "Ginny's going to be there."

Draco made a face at him and shooed him out. Blaise left laughing, closing the door after him, leaving Draco to continue on writing on the piece of parchment.

* * *

"Are you sure he's coming?" whispered Abby from behind the large textbook she propped up in front of her to hide herself from Ginny and everyone else passing by their table.

"I'm positive. He was writing something on a piece of parchment like a maniac. I have a feeling it's another letter for Ginny," Blaise nodded, slouched low in his seat with an equally large textbook propped up on the table in front of him.

"What made you think he will make an appearance?"

Blaise made a face at his girlfriend. "C'mon Abs, I know Malfoy. And I've seen him when he's writing one of his letters to Ginny. He didn't want me peering over his shoulder to see what he was writing, but I know it's a letter for Ginny."

"What if it's not? And what if he didn't show up? Ginny's gonna have my hide for dragging her here for no apparent reason!" she hissed.

"And _what_ was the reason you gave her anyway?" Blaise demanded.

"I told her Malfoy wanted to see her and talk to her."

"_What?!_" Blaise dropped the textbook with a loud thud on the table, causing Abby and Ginny to jump from their seats. Some of the other students present also looked their way.

"What the hell's wrong?" demanded Ginny, looking from Blaise to Abby then back at Blaise. "What did Abby do this time, Blaise? Bit your lip or what?"

Blaise gave an annoyed look at Ginny but ignored her. His eyes were fixed firmly on his girlfriend. "You told her that?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Abby looked indifferently at her boyfriend.

"Because we're not even sure if he's..." the rest of what Blaise had to say died on his lips when he saw a movement from the corner of his eye. Turning he nearly fell off his chair when he saw Draco standing there, a rolled-up parchment in his hand and sought Ginny's attention.

"Weasley, mind if I have a word with you?"

Abby nearly fell off her chair too when she heard Draco spoke those words. She honestly didn't expect her little fib earlier just to get Ginny to accompany her to the library would actually come true. Blaise and Abby watched with baited breath as the scene before them unfold. Ginny looked like she didn't want anything to do with Malfoy and wasn't pleased that he actually made an appearance. Draco, on the other hand, looked like he was holding on to a very thin thread; his last chance at setting things straight with Ginny.

"Uuhh...do--do you guys want us to leave you alone?" Blaise stammered and pushed himself off his chair with Abby following his lead. They waited for either one of their housemates to say anything, but when Draco and Ginny remained locked in a staring battle, it was up to Blaise and Abby to take the hint and left the two alone, but with worried backward glances until Blaise pushed Abby behind one of the tall bookshelves placed horizontally across the table they just vacated. Pushing some books out of the way, they both peered at the couple left on the table. Draco hasn't sat down yet and Ginny hasn't said anything nor moved a muscle.

"Dammit, why aren't they doing _anything_?" hissed Abby.

"Shh, relax, will ya? I think those two are still shocked at being left alone in each other's company once again," Blaise replied.

"But they better do _something_ soon before I die of suspense here," she hissed.

Blaise cocked an eyebrow and looked at his girlfriend, grinning from ear to ear he couldn't help the urge to kiss her soundly on the cheek, surprising Abby. "What was that for?" she demanded.

"That was for you being so darn cute," Blaise chuckled. "Now hush-up and watch. It might take a while before those two move a muscle."

* * *

Ginny didn't know what to do. So Abby wasn't lying when she said Draco wanted to speak to her. She didn't really believe Abby earlier when her friend was trying to persuade her to come with her to the library; she sounded desperate and up to something, but since Ginny had nothing else left to do she gave in. But now Draco Malfoy was actually here, in the library, standing right beside her looking down at her with those undecipherable steel gray eyes of his that made her feel uneasy inside. Regardless of her anger towards him; her annoyance at the audacity of the man before her to make a complete, utter fool out of her, and the way she turned down the chance he asked of her without thinking twice about it, Ginny knew the man behind her APC's letters was the real Draco Malfoy; the Draco Malfoy no one has seen before, except her.

"W-what do you want, Malfoy?" She tried to sound indifferent, her voice neutral and less quivery, but she knew it was a losing battle. Her insides here turning to mush albeit slowly, and her brain was ceasing to function coherently.

"Like what I said, Weasley, I want a word with you," he replied nonchalantly.

Curse the blond hair on his head for acting cool as ice while she was no where near as cool as he looked.

"About what?"

"Us," he replied without skipping a beat.

"_Us?_" she echoed, "In case you have forgotten, Malfoy, there is no us."

"Actually Weasley, you're wrong. There _was_ an us, an us that loved and adored and seduced one another under the cloak of anonymity, at least it was a cloak of anonymity for my part."

Ginny's eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch. Taking a deep breath she squared her shoulders and jutted her chin to the air, trying to look down her nose at Draco even as she was seated and he stood before her.

"Whatever it was, it was long gone now, Malfoy. The person who loved and seduced me under that cloak was just a figment of my imagination; he wasn't even real. I let myself be lead-on by a fantasy, a fantasy lover; a fantasy boyfriend; a fantasy relationship that I knew was too good to be true because he was just too damn sweet and loving in all his letters that he sent me." Pushing her chair away, she got up and gathered the book she brought with her to read. "Now if you will excuse me, I think it's time for me to return back to my dormitory. If Blaise and Abby comes back, just tell them I already left." She didn't wait for him to say anything, she side-stepped around him and only managed to take one single step before Draco's hand wrapped around her upper arm, preventing her from leaving.

"Wait," he said softly. He didn't give Ginny the chance to voice out her opinion and held out the rolled-up parchment he had. "Here, read this. Give me an answer if you want, but I doubt I'll hear any from you anyway." Ginny made a gesture to argue, but he shook his head and thrust the parchment he was handing to her, "Take it, Weaslette, and read it. Then you can throw it afterwards. I don't care what you do with it just as long as you read it. You won't be seeing me anymore after tomorrow anyway so it doesn't matter."

"Mal--"

Draco cut her off once again. "Goodbye, Ginny Weasley." He slowly let go of her arm, letting his hand drop to his side. "And have a good life." He walked away without a backwards glance. He passed by the bookshelf Blaise and Abby hid themselves from the view of the couple and noticed the couple's jaws hanging. He ignored them.

Draco Malfoy just kept right on walking, ignoring the prickling feeling at the back of his neck as he strode out of the library. He told himself countless times he doesn't care whether Ginny read his letter or not. He doesn't care. He wouldn't care. That chapter of his life was over. As of tomorrow after the Farewell Feast his life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and his infatuation with a certain Ginny Weasley was over.

_Dearest Ginny,_

_I know you are sick and tired of receiving these nonsensical letters from me. To be honest I am getting sick and tired of  
sending them to you too, but somehow I find myself reaching for a piece of parchment lying about on my study table, opening my  
ink bottle and grabbing my finest quill and start writing to you._

_I already accepted the truth. You will never be mine. You and I will never be together. You are destined to be with someone  
you deserve, someone who will appreciate and adore you more than life itself. Regardless of all the bad memories we had (along  
with some good ones we shared when you didn't know it was me behind those letters you received), I won't forget you. You'll always  
be a part of me, a part of my life that was Hogwarts. I'll move on, don't worry about it. Heck, I doubt you'll worry about whether  
or not I'm going to be alright. But in my mind I will keep that comforting thought that even though you detest me, you still find  
it in yourself to care for me--even just a little bit._

_As an ending to this final letter of mine (trust me, after this you won't hear from me ever again), I will leave you with this  
to ponder on: _

_Oceans apart day after day  
And I slowly go insane  
I hear your voice on the line  
But it doesn't stop the pain  
  
If I see you next to never  
How can we say forever  
  
Wherever you go  
Whatever you do  
I will be right here waiting for you  
Whatever it takes  
Or how my heart breaks  
I will be right here waiting for you  
  
I took for granted, all the times  
That I thought would last somehow  
I hear the laughter, I taste the tears  
But I can't get near you now  
  
Oh, can't you see it baby  
You've got me goin' crazy  
  
Wherever you go  
Whatever you do  
I will be right here waiting for you  
Whatever it takes  
Or how my heart breaks  
I will be right here waiting for you  
  
I wonder how we can survive  
This romance  
But in the end if I'm with you  
I'll take the chance  
  
oh, can't you see it baby  
you've got me goin crazy  
  
Wherever you go  
Whatever you do  
I will be right here waiting for you  
Whatever it takes  
Or how my heart breaks  
I will be right here waiting for you  
Waiting for you..._

_Loving you always,  
Draco Malfoy_

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**A/N: **Ooooh, _finally!_ Man, and I thought I wouldn't finish this chapter! grins Well, looks like after this one I am gonna be serving you the FINAL chapter. Which I am in the mood to type after this, but ...well, we'll see for now.

**A/N2:** Draco decided to borrow Richard Marx's **Right Here Waiting** song, which happened to be one of me old time fave ballads

**PhoenixRae's Thank Yous:** OMG, there's too many of you to thank, but you all know who you are. Thank you all for being ever so patient with me! And I am hoping that before this weekend's over I am gonna upload the final chapter of this fic. Until then, happy reading for now!


	23. Back to Where It All Started

**Summary:** Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

**Disclaimer:** NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** Well looks like you guys didn't have to wait long for an update 'coz here it is.

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**XXIII. Back to Where It All Began...**

Boarding the Hogwarts Express after being dropped off at the Hogsmeade terminal, Ginny boarded the gleaming red steam engine train with a heavy heart. Before her was Abby who climbed into the train holding hands with her boyfriend and looking chippier than ever. Blaise, being a seventh year, wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts next year. Instead he'd be looking for a job either at the Ministry or elsewhere; either way Ginny knew Blaise and Abby would stay in touch and probably end up marrying one another after Abby's done her seventh year at Hogwarts.

Ginny was happy for her best friend. Abby deserved Blaise, and Blaise obviously deserved Abby. He wasn't as bad and as vile as his other Slytherin housemates, and Ginny applaud him for standing up for what he believes and fought to make his and Abby's relationship last. It was something Ginny wished Draco would've done if he was indeed in love with her, yet he chose to let her go and never bother to keep on trying to win her back.

"Hey, cheer up, Gin," cajoled Abby when she noticed her best friend wearing a long face.

"I'm alright, Abs," Ginny lied and moved closer to the window, distancing herself as far away as possible from the cuddling couple near the door.

"Are you sure, Gin?" inquired Blaise, wrapping his arm around Abby and pulling her closer to his side. "Because you sure don't look alright to me," he pointed out.

Ginny made a face at Blaise and continued ignoring the two. She wasn't at all in the mood to socialize with them. How will she be alright if she feels this great void inside her that she knew would never be closed again?

The train lurched forward, signaling its passengers that they were leaving the platform at the Hogsmeade station. Blaise and Abby didn't waste any time putting in some quality time as soon as the train started moving. They were sweeter than the sweetest Sugar Quill Ginny's ever had; heck, they were even sweeter than sugar that when she heard them smooching on the corner she has had it and walked out of the compartment, closing the door to give her two friends some privacy.

She was happy for Blaise and Abby. Really, she _was_ happy for them, but that doesn't mean she'd be tolerating them to torment her, albeit unbeknownst to them of course, by acting all lovey-dovey when they both knew she was nursing a broken heart.

Ginny walked up and down the train, moving from one empty cart hallway to the next, occasionally peering into each carriage to see if it was empty or nearly empty, occupied only by those selected few that she liked. So far she had no such luck. The compartment Harry, Ron, and Hermione occupied were nearly full (Neville, Seamus and Dean decided to bunk in with the trio) and from the looks of it, all six of them are rehashing about the past seven years they spent at Hogwarts; she didn't want to intrude and left the six of them alone.

She kept moving down the corridor, past nearly full and somewhat full compartments, stopping at some of the compartments to chat with some of her friends. Colin Creevy invited her to join him and some of the other sixth year Gryffindors in their compartment, but Ginny declined and only stayed a while to chat before she moved on again. Two compartments from where Colin and some of their batchmates were at, Ginny walked past its slightly left ajar door, snippets of conversation from inside the compartment caught her attention...

_"He was really crazy over her. I can't believe she'd turn him down like that!"_ a female voice said irritably. _"He risked being ridiculed by his housemates for his obsession with that Weasley girl, and for what? For nothing. She only broke his heart."_

A chorus of agreement from the other occupants of the compartment were heard. Ginny stopped from walking away and leaned up against the wall divider, her ears perked up to eavesdrop some more. She knew it wasn't really nice to eavesdrop, but these girls were talking about her and, she could bet a hundred Galleon, Draco Malfoy.

_"I watched him watch her while Weasley was telling her brother to grow up after she stopped the two of them from fighting. He walked off, disappeared into the crowd only to move back into the queue hidden from everybody else still watching the scene the Weasley siblings were creating,"_ the girl paused, let out a deep breath before continuing, _"He seemed so damn proud of her. He was impressed with her finally telling her brother off. Do you have any idea how much I wanted Draco to look at me the way he did when he watched Weasley bite her brother's head off? So many times I wished for him to look at me the way he did at her, but alas, I can't seem to catch his fancy."_

A chorus of disgruntled groan echoed inside the compartment.

_"I say Weasley's still stupid for passing up the chance to snag Draco Malfoy!"_ said another female voice angrily. _"I can curse her to oblivion for what she did to my poor Draco!"_

_"But Pansy, you know you can't harm Ginny Weasley, unless you want to face off with a very peeved Blaise whose girlfriend is Weasley's best friend and treats Weasley like his best friend too. Not to mention having to answer to Draco who is so blindly in love with Weasley it's sickening!"_ warned the first female voice Ginny heard.

The Slytherin girls inside the compartment were still gossiping about her and Draco, but Ginny didn't want to hear anymore. She already heard enough. She was having a hard time believing what those girls said, but Draco was really in love with her? _Oh Merlin, if I'm dreaming please wake me up now!_ she thought to herself and quickly turned away to walk back to the compartment she shared with Blaise and Abby.

"_Whoof!_" Ginny yelped and was thrown back, almost falling on her rump, when she collided with someone's chest. She was thankful she was saved from having to suffer from a sore buttocks by the person she collided with.

"Careful, Weaslette," snarled the familiar male voice from over her head.

Ginny snapped her read head up, her brown eyes locking with Draco's cool gray ones. A jumble of emotions played in her eyes, making her thinking incoherently. The last thing she expected was to run in to Draco on the train. She did her best to avoid looking at the Slytherin table at the feast earlier; if he meant what he said to her the night before of not seeing her again after today, she didn't want to lay eyes on him either. She was calling herself a million kinds of fool for not believing him when he confessed his feelings for her, but her stubborn mind kept on telling her he was just playing with her; he was bored and she was the unfortunate target he found to amuse himself. It didn't matter that Blaise was close to strangling her when she told him that she turned down Draco for the second time last night.

_"Dammit, Ginny! Malfoy's friggin' in love with you! I've never seen him this worked-up over a girl. Those other girls he paraded around when you turned him down the first time were nothing compared to you. He was just using them. None of them meant anything to him!"_ Blaise's handsome face was contorted to an angry scowl. He was glaring down at Ginny last night outside the library after the three of them left.

Now Ginny stood, face to face with the man who has made her restless in her sleep at night, in a deserted corridor of the Hogwarts Express. Gulping down hard she disentangled herself from Draco's grip on her arms and took a step back.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," she replied and without waiting for a reply she walked around him and headed towards her compartment.

Something dropped from the inside pocket of her robes that she didn't notice. Draco saw the small folded piece of parchment and picked it up. He was about to follow Ginny and return it back to her, but the name on the parchment made him stop. There, in Ginny's neat handwriting, written on the parchment was his name. _Draco._

* * *

_Dearest Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House,_

_I get a feeling  
I can't explain  
Whenever your eyes meet mine  
My heart spins in circles  
And I lose all space and time  
And now that we're standing face to face  
Somethin' tells me  
It's gonna be okay _

_And I'm ready to fall in love tonight  
Ready to hold my heart open wide  
Can't promise forever but baby I'll try  
I'm ready to fall in love tonight  
I know you've been watching  
Choosin' your moment  
But I've been dreaming of that day  
No one before you has gotten to me this way _

_And now that we're standing face to face  
There's something that I need to say _

_And I'm ready to fall in love tonight  
Ready to hold my heart open wide  
Can't promise forever but baby I'll try  
Cause I'm ready to fall in love tonight  
Nothing is certain, this I know  
Wherever we're headed  
I'm ready to go  
I can't promise forever but baby I'll try _

_Cause I'm ready to fall in love tonight  
Cause I'm ready to fall in love tonight  
Cause I'm ready to fall in love tonight  
In love tonight _

_But I guess you'll never know that I have fallen in love with you because you'll never get the chance to read this letter..._

_Loving you always,  
Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House_

Draco folded the piece of paper. He didn't realized he was slumped against the wall Ginny was just leaning against moments earlier. He couldn't believe what he just read. A letter addressed to him that wasn't meant to be sent to him.

She loves him. Ginny Weasley loves him, Draco Malfoy.

"Merlin, _yes!_" he yelped, attracting the attention of the occupants of the compartments who poked their heads out. Draco grinned from ear to ear at the confused looks of each compartment occupant then darted off to run after Ginny, calling out her name and attracting even more attention from other compartment occupants. "_Ginny, wait!_" he called out, running down the corridor until he caught up with her.

Ginny was surprised to her hear name called out loud. She stopped just outside the door of the compartment she occupied with Abby and Blaise and turned to look behind her, her brown eyes widened when she saw Draco Malfoy running towards her, a big, dopey grin plastered on his handsome face. Ginny felt a big hand just squeezed her already breaking heart as she gazed at the face of the only man she knew she'd love to distraction.

"Ginny...wait..." Draco skidded to a stop an arm's length from her, his breathing coming out raggedly. "Ginny...I...wait..." he was panting, trying to catch his breath before he spoke again.

Ginny watched a very flushed Draco catch his breath. Her forehead knitted into a frown. She had no idea what made him come after her. Didn't he just tell her last night he'd stay out of her life? What was he doing here now?

"Malfoy, what--" Ginny was cut off when Draco surprised her by grabbing her face between his hands and pulled it closer to his for a kiss so deep and so passionate it made her knees buckle.

A chorus of loud gasps were heard from every person whose heads were stuck outside their compartment doors and watched what the commotion was about. Ron's jaw nearly dropped on the floor when he saw Draco Malfoy snogging his sister. Harry and Hermione had to restrain Ron from storming up to Draco and Ginny and pry their lips off each other's.

Ginny's head was spinning by the time Draco softened his mouth's assault on hers. Giving her quick pecks before slowly pulling away, his hands still cupping her face and his grey eyes dancing with mirth. He gazed into her dark brown eyes, seeing the jumble of emotions he noticed a while back cross them again. Questions swam in the depths of those dark brown orbs of hers, questions Draco knew the answers to and without waiting for her to voice those questions out he answered:

"I love you, Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor House. I know you love me too, Gin, no need to deny it."

Ginny's eyes widen and looked at him in alarm, "How..." the rest of her question trailed off when she saw what Draco held clasped between his fingers. It was that stupid piece of parchment containing that stupid letter she wrote to him last night when she couldn't sleep. She remembered slipping it inside her robes earlier and meant to burn it before boarding the train, but it slipped her mind and now the letter was in his hands.

"Where did you get that?"

"It fell when you were in a rush to get away from me. I picked it up. I didn't mean to read it, but when I read my name on the paper I can't help myself and was curious," he explained. "And if it hadn't been for this letter I wouldn't have had the guts to follow you and do this," he showed her what he meant to do and claimed her lips once more.

This time moans and coos of delight were heard from every person still watching the scene from their compartment doorways. Ron still wanted to strangle Malfoy, Harry and Hermione were ready to strangle him for being such a prick. It was obvious to the two that Malfoy and Ginny liked each other, why couldn't Ron just accept that?

When the couple broke apart, tears were streaming down Ginny's cheeks, but she was smiling.

"Damn you Malfoy for making me cry," she hissed under her breath.

Draco chuckled and pulled her for a hug. "I'm sorry, but that's the only way I can think of letting you know how I really feel."

Ginny pulled away from him, drying her eyes with the back of her hands. "But what you did was still mean," she told him without much conviction. "Blackmailing Oliver to letting us serve detention together? Why would you even resort to doing that? That was very underhanded and mean."

Draco gave her a sheepish grin and shrugged. "I was desperate. You obviously thought he was your damn APC and I was going crazy. I can't really approach you so serving detention with you was the only way I can think of spending time with you," he explained.

"And _how_ did you even find out what sort of weapon to use against Oliver? You blackmailed him because you found out something about him. A secret he's guarded all his life probably. Care to tell me _what_ that secret was and _how_ you found about it?"

"Simple, Weasley," Draco gloated, his arms resting around her small waist as they stood in the middle of the corridor while many eyes watched them. "I found a piece of parchment Wood dropped just as I was leaving his classroom. It wasn't folded or rolled up and I had every intention of ignoring it, but then it fell on the floor face up and your name caught my attention."

"My name?" she echoed.

"Yep," he nodded. "Wood wrote a letter to you, Weaslette. A letter confessing his love for you."

"_What?!_" Ginny's jaw dropped when she found out this bit of information. No wonder Oliver didn't want to tell her who the girl was that he was in love with. "_I_ am that girl he's in love with?" she asked out loud.

Draco frowned down at her. "You knew about that?"

"Yeah, but I didn't know who the girl is."

Draco smirked. "Well the girl is you, Ginny. Anyway, to make a long story short, I kept the letter and when he least expected it I showed it to him and coerced him to helping me out."

"You mean _blackmailed_ him to help you out," she corrected.

"Whatever," he shrugged. "It worked anyway. I got to serve detention with you then snogged you senseless."

Ginny blushed at the reminder of their first snogfest in the dark. "I couldn't stop thinking about that kiss for weeks," she confessed.

"Neither could I, Gin, neither could I," Draco assured her.

Ginny smiled at him, her eyes moving over his face lovingly and whispered, "I love you to distraction, Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House," she finally admitted.

Draco swore he heard a choir chorus sang _Hallelujah_ at her confession. Grinning from ear to ear he took Ginny's mouth once more and this time they didn't come up for air for a good two minutes.

Abby and Blaise, who had the best view in the house, were grinning from ear to ear and snogged too. Finally those two got together!

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**THE END**

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**A/N:** OMG!!! I can't believe it! But I AM DONE!!! Yay!!!! Hope you all liked this fic. Thank you to all you wonderful reviewers and readers for being there. I know it took me a while to finish this fic. I even thought I wouldn't be able to finish it, but loook, here is the final chapter. Once again a **BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU -- YA'LL KNOW WHO YOU ARE! **

**A/N2:** For this final chapter I decided to make Ginny use **Ready to Fall** by N'Sync (I am not really a huge fan of this boy band, but they have some pretty nice, cheesy love songs to use for this fic, hehehehe)


End file.
